Sunday, March 8, 2009

Live text - Scottish Cup

SCOTTISH CUP QUARTER-FINAL

Rangers 3-1 Hamilton

GOALFLASHES AND MAJOR INCIDENTS (all times GMT)

MY SPORT: DEBATE
To get involved use My Sport or text us your views on 80295. (Not all contributions can be used)

By Keir Murray

1545: Goal! Rangers 3-1 Hamilton. Aaron makes good use of his second attempt to score from the spot, blasting the ball low past Tomas Cerny. A controversial moment.

1544: Tomas Cerny saves Aaron's poor penalty, but the linesman indicates that the keeper had come off his line. Brines orders a re-take.

1544: Penalty for Rangers! Chris Swailes, just on the park, scythes down Kenny Miller. A definite penalty.

1542: Mark McLaughlin is forced to come off with a head knock before the interval. Chris Swailes comes on.

1541: Neutrals (and many others, no doubt) will want to see the Accies pull a goal back before the pies and beef-flavoured drinks are served. It would make for an interesting second half.

1540: Kenny Miller is looking lively today, as Rangers pile on the pressure towards the end of the first half.

1536: Goal! Rangers 2-1 Hamilton. Kyle Lafferty is as alert as an antelope as he latches on to a beautifully weighted through ball from Kenny Miller, who showed tremendous ability to control Steven Whittaker's cross.

1533: There aren't too many Accies fans in the Broomloan Stand, but the goal has given them much to cheer about. "Ooh, ooh, ooh to be, ooh to be an Accie!" as the song goes.

1531: Ouch! Young Aaron is sent flying by Grant Evans. Referee Iain Brines takes a moment to chat to the Hamilton sub, telling him to "cool it" presumably.

1528: Billy Reid is all smiles in the away dug-out. Allan McGregor was nudged out of the way by one of his own defenders when he tried to gather McCarthy's cross.

1527: Goal! Rangers 1-1 Hamilton. James McCarthy's looping ball from the right wing isn't dealt with by the Rangers defence, the ball falls to Rocco Quinn and he blasts it in from 10 yards.

1524: Aaron is hobbling around at the moment, having twisted his ankle by the looks of it. The Sportscene cameras have given us a shot of Rangers manager Walter Smith and coach Ian Durrant, sitting in the main stand engaging in a bit of synchronised gum chewing.

1520: BristolCity_1985 is on My Sport, asking why the game is not being shown on the website.

It's a question of new media rights - we don't have online video rights for the Scottish Cup.

1518: The Hamilton fans will be wondering if Easton's absence on the left (he has been replaced by Grant Evans) made the difference at the goal there. Whittaker rampaged down the right wing, the territory normally patrolled to great effect by Easton.

1516: "Great skill, driving inside the box, turns two defenders and whips the ball in with his left foot, leaving the goalkeeper no chance." BBC Scotland pundit Murdo MacLeod.

1515: Goal! Rangers 1-0 Hamilton. Steven Whittaker slams in a low left-foot shot, having performed two impressive pirouettes in the box. Seems like the former Hibs man only scores great goals.

1514: Steve Davis dinks a ball over from the right, which Kyle Lafferty reaches with his unfeasibly long frame. The big Irishman heads over the bar, though.

1513: "It seems to be when Rangers break, Hamilton break - it's really stretched right now, this game." BBC Scotland pundit Billy Dodds

1512: Panic in the Rangers defence there as Paul McGowan's swirling corner lands straight in then danger zone. The Ibrox side scramble it free.

1511: "The Rangers players need to earn their wages today, another performance like midweek is just not acceptable!!!! Hopefully Mendes can offer some inspiration. Come on Rangers." Greg in Glasgow on 80295

1507: Rangers' Spanish midfielder Aaron is wearing gloves, which makes me think he is going to have a good game. No real logic there, other than all the good players I ever saw on European nights wore gloves...

1504: Brian Easton, Hamilton Accies dependable left-back, is struggling with an injury after stretching to cut out a cross. Like most of the Accies team, he has youth on his side so hopefully he'll be able to shrug the injury off.

1502: Richard Offiong screws a shot wide from outside the box. Like McCarthy, the Hamilton striker is playing his 100th match for the club today. He'll want to mark it with a goal.

1500: And we're off. The crowd is rather sparse at Ibrox, foul weather and TV coverage being factors in the less-than-capacity attendance no doubt.

1458: I can't help thinking the weather is going to be a factor in the match today. The rain and sleet has been coming down like stair rods this afternoon. It's a growler of a day.

No wonder Walter Smith has DaMarcus Beasley on the bench. The wee man would be blown into the main stand on a day like this.

1455: Just five minutes to kick-off. Are we looking at another Scottish Cup shock like the one in 1987 when Adrian Sprott, Gerry Collins and co knocked out Graeme Souness' Rangers?

1452: Hamilton welcome back Mark McLaughlin, always an important player for the Accies, while 18-year-old James McCarthy makes his 100th senior appearance for the club. A real blow to Billy Reid is the absence of midfielder James McArthur.

1450: Rangers fans will be delighted to see Pedro Mendes return to the team after a spell out with a thight strain. As Maurice Edu, Kirk Broadfoot, John Fleck and Kris Boyd drop to the bench, Steven Whittaker, Kyle Lafferty and Aaron are the others who are drafted into the starting 11.

1446: The match is live on Sportscene on BBC One Scotland, so if you are able to watch it why not stay logged on and contribute to the live text as the game proceeds.

1443: "We didn't create enough chances against Inverness on Wednesday and we didn't play well, so we have to remedy that and get it right today."Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist talking to BBC Radio Scotland.

1442: And here are the teams:

Rangers: McGregor; Whittaker, Weir, Bougherra, Papac; Davis, Mendes, Ferguson, Aaron; Miller, Lafferty. Subs: Alexander, Edu, Boyd, McCulloch, Beasley.

Hamilton Accies: Cerny, Easton, McCarthy, Elebert, McLaughlin, Offiong, Neil, Gibson, McGowan, Quinn, Mensing. Subs: Murdoch, Deuchar, Swailes, Lyle, Evans.

Referee: Iain Brines.

1440: Okey, dokey. It's a foul day here in Glasgow, ripe for another Scottish Cup upset. Rangers take on Hamilton in the last of the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.

I would love to hear what you think of today's match as the action unfolds, so don't be shy - send your comments to My Sport and via text on 80295.

No comments: