It may not have appeared conceivable, but Ibrox icon Barry Ferguson has found a way to paint Rangers’ Scottish Cup defeat at the hands of Queen’s Park in an even harsher light.
Ferguson points out that this was more than just a second-tier team showing up to Glasgow Rangers and putting on a ‘cupset’ to rival any in the tournament’s history.
It was a Queen’s Park team that had lost seven of its last 10 Championship games.
A Queen’s Park team whose morale had plummeted following losses to Ayr United, Raith Rovers, Greenock Morton, Falkirk, Hamilton Academical, Partick Thistle, and, earlier this month, Airdrie.
Given how important the Scottish Cup was to Rangers this season – their best, if not only, chance of securing silverware – Barry Ferguson couldn’t believe what he was seeing as Vaclav Cerny, Ianis Hagi, Mohamed Diomande, Robin Propper, Hamza Igamane, and James Tavernier, the latter seeing a stoppage time penalty saved by Calum Ferrie, toiled against a side that had been defeated in front of only 1,486 fans at the Albert Bartlett Stadium only a few days earlier.
Barry Ferguson slams Rangers after Queens Park defeat
“It is a disastrous result, there’s no getting away from that,” Ferguson, who has won the Scottish Cup five times in two stays at Ibrox, seethes. “I believe Rangers needed to win the trophy since they are 13 points behind Celtic in the league.
“The Scottish Cup is one prize that I believe the club should pursue.
“There were miles of it.” They had 27 attempts on goal, but I believe the majority of them were ordinary saves. Overall, I was really unhappy with the level of performance.
“Queen’s Park came with a gameplan, and it worked. Rangers couldn’t get through them and I thought, when they got into the last third, the quality wasn’t there.
Shot-stopper Ferrie set the tone for what could be a career-defining performance when he denied Diomande, Cerny and a disappointing Bajrami – Kris Boyd hammered Rangers’ £3.5 million man for a ‘really poor’ performance – inside the first 20 minutes.
Hagi had one effort cleared off the line while Igamane forced Ferrie into another reflex stop from a corner early in the second-half, before the Englishman became the 17th goalkeeper to deny Tavernier from the penalty spot during the captain’s Rangers career.
Ferrie’s finest save was arguably still to come. Robin Propper’s point-blank header looked destined for the top corner before Queen’s Park’s answer to Iker Casillas tipped it over.
Jefte beaten as Seb Drozd scores famous Scottish Cup winner
Ferguson’s main frustration, however, was not with the wastefulness of Bajrami, Igamane and co at one end but with the slackness of the defending at the other. Particularly Jefte, the left-back caught square on as Queen’s Park’s Seb Drozd breezed past him in the penalty area before slotting under Liam Kelly.
“Defensively, they are all over the place, Rangers,” Ferguson moans. “Jefte has sold himself. Fair play to the guy [Drozd], he went by him and placed it in the net, and then [Queen’s Park] defended for their lives. That’s what you do.
“Queens Park are struggling in the Championship and that makes the result even worse!”
Jefte was connected with Premier League club Chelsea during the January transfer window. However, despite the improvement the Brazilian has made since arriving in Glasgow from Fluminense, the last few weeks have served as a reminder of how far he still needs to go.
Jefte was blamed for Manchester United’s late winner at Old Trafford in January, after switching off as Bruno Fernandes sneaked in at the far post. And, as young Drozd left him for dead, Jefte the lefty thought the Queen’s Park winger was a touch too annoying.
“What a goal [by Drozd]!” A beautiful drop of the shoulder. “I believe it goes through Liam Kelly’s legs,” former Hearts and Hibernian midfielder Michael Stewart observed while commentating.
“[But] this is not excellent defense from Jefte. This is absolutely dire. “Get out and block him!”
