Dunfermline lose to Rangers in the Scottish League Cup
Date: Sunday, 22nd Aug 2021On Friday the 13th Augusts, Rangers sailed past Dunfermline to reach the Scottish League Cup quarter-finals, ending a run of three defeats. The current SPL champions had recently suffered an embarrassing Champions League loss at the hands of Malmo. However, the Ibrox side made eight changes and were rewarded for an early mistake from Dunfermline as John Lundstram scored in the opening three minutes.
Before halftime, Scott Wright increased the lead, Ianis Hagi headed in a third, and Kemar Roofe also scored to add to Dunfermline`s misery. The team were four goals down at halftime, and it`s unlikely that the gaffer had much positive to say about the performance during the break. After halftime, the game was pretty much over by Roofe added one more for good measure from the penalty spot.
Throughout the game, Rangers were clearly the better side, and after halftime, they definitely lowered the intensity as they knew the game was already won. Dunfermline got a ray of hope when Connor Goldson utterly missed a cross but Ranger`s goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin`s was on hand to stop Craig Wighton.
Rangers fans will, of course, be delighted with the result, having had a tough three losses on the bounce. They`ll be celebrating as if they won the jackpot at the casino, although it was always expected that they should be able to get the win over Scottish Champions side Dunfermline. You can read more about Pink Casino here for details on how to play.
After the game, Dunfermline manager Peter Grant had the following to say: "We never got started, it continued on, it was really tentative. People say Rangers played well, but we were way off the mark. We were just so poor. He added, "I hope the players are hurting, I hope they`re suffering, but they`ve got to learn from it."
What`s Next for Dunfermline
Dunfermline had a tough draw for the Scottish League Cup, and while they reached the second round, they`re now going home empty-handed. This was the perfect opportunity to get a win over Rangers, who have looked out of sorts in their last three games with three consecutive defeats.Instead, Rangers will be the ones taking on Livingstone in the quarter-finals while the attentions of Dunfermline turn to the league. Dunfermline are currently 9th in the league after one draw and one loss in their opening two games. As it stands, Dunfermline could be relegated to league one, but of course, there`s still a long way to go in the season.
Dunfermline`s next fixtures will be Raith Rovers, Arbroath and Elgin City. Raith Rovers and Arbroath will be league fixtures, while Elgin City is the second round of the Scottish Challenge Cup. These are all relatively tough fixtures, so the team will need to improve if they want to get results. Against Rangers, it was clear that the team didn`t really show up and were expecting to be beaten. That kind of performance is tough for the travelling fans to take, and although a win was always unlikely, the fans deserve better. Though the short lived fixture on Friday evening at local rivals Raith Rovers gave hope for optimism for the 13 minutes played as Dunfermline upped the tempo !
Hopes for the Upcoming Season
Obviously, it`s the start of the season, and the Scottish Championship is only two games in. Dunfermline haven`t had the best of starts, but there is still optimism among fans and those at the club for the next few weeks. This season sees the return of crowds to football grounds around the country, and the team will no doubt be pleased to play in front of fans once more. Hopefully 4,000 fans packed into Starks Park on Friday evening, despite the presence of BBC Scotland cameras, shows a sign of things to come.When asked, Dunfermline chairman Ross McArthur had the following to say about this "The supporters have been sorely missed. Some clubs probably struggled with that more than others, particularly those who have a big fanbase. So, I can`t wait to have that backing again, and I`m hoping that`s the timeframe we can work to."
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