James Tavernier hit a first-half hat-trick as Rangers breezed into the Scottish Cup quarter-finals, avenging last year’s shock defeat by Queen’s Park.
Almost exactly 12 months ago, Calum Ferrie was the hero for the Championship side, making save after save and stopping a late penalty from Tavernier in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament.
This time, the goalkeeper was sent the wrong way from the spot by the Ibrox captain after punching a corner from the full-back into his own net, while Tavernier’s first goal was forced home from close range.
Ryan Naderi opened his Rangers account on his first start and Matty Shiels knocked in an own goal before the interval, both coming from corners.
Naderi helped himself to a second header early in the second half and Bojan Miovski steered in the seventh on 80 minutes.
Tochi Chukwuani, who flicked on Tavernier’s delivery for the Shiels own goal, completed the rout, applying the finish to a neat passing sequence.
Queen’s Park made it through by default after Stranraer were expelled for not following the correct procedure for registering an on-loan goalkeeper in the previous round.
While the reprieve will provide a healthy boost for the club’s coffers, there was little danger of lightning striking twice in such an error-strewn display that will compound the misery of a team sitting bottom of the second tier.
The visitors did have the ball in the net at 1-0 but Aidan Connolly was offside by quite a distance, a fleeting moment of joy swiftly doused.
