Peterhead suffered defeat on the biggest afternoon of their history, but they did not let themselves down despite going down 4-0 to Rangers in the Petrofac Cup final at Hampden Park.
Ally Gilchrist’s own goal handed Rangers the lead on 17 minutes, before James Tavernier added a second five minutes before the break with an excellent volley from the edge of the box.
Peterhead did not allow the Glasgow side to run away with the match, reacting well to going two goals behind and creating a handful of opportunities to get back into the match, but Rangers were able to cruise through the second-half, adding further goals through Andy Halliday’s penalty and Kenny Miller’s close-range finish as they finally got their hands on the trophy at the fourth attempt.
It brought an end to a memorable cup run for the Blue Toon, which all began with an incredible 5-3 defeat of Championship side Falkirk in August, prior to a 3-0 win against Stenhousemuir the following month and a 2-1 semi-final win against Queen’s Park in November.
Peterhead have already secured a promotion play-off spot, and manager Jim McInally had rested several players for the previous weekend’s 2-0 League 1 loss against Forfar Athletic, with six changes made for the Hampden showdown. Nathan Blockley, Jamie Stevenson, Nicky Riley, Leighton McIntosh, Scott Ferries and Marc Lawrence dropped out, with Gilchrist, Scott Ross, Rory McAllister, Kevin Dzierzawski, Jordon Brown and Simon Ferry coming in.
Rangers were buoyed by their clinching of the Championship title in Tuesday’s 1-0 win against Dumbarton, and they set the early tempo, although their first attempt did not come until the 14th minute, when Harry Forrester’s shot was deflected behind. Mark Warburton’s side began to threaten more often though, with Ryan Strachan reacting well to block Andy Halliday’s shot.
The breakthrough came on 17 minutes however, in an unfortunate moment for young defender Gilchrist. Shane Sutherland was robbed of possession by Kenny Miller, who burst down the left before sending in a low delivery that was swept past his own goalkeeper by the on-loan St Johnstone player.
The goal was a blow for the Blue Toon, who had held in well until that point, but it gave the Ibrox side a lift, with goalkeeper Graeme Smith forced to make a fine save from Miller’s header.
McInally was dealt a blow on 25 minutes when defender Strachan was forced to limp off, after suffering a thigh injury, with the former Aberdeen youth player replaced by Jamie Stevenson.
Peterhead attacks were few and far between in the first-half, with Sutherland having his side’s first attempt with a speculative long-range strike that flew harmlessly over.
Just as it looked as if Peterhead were going to approach the interval having kept the deficit down to one goal, they were hit by a second they could do little to prevent on 40 minutes, when the ball broke for Tavenier to thump a 25-yard volley into Smith’s left-hand corner.
The Blue Toon responded well to the blow however, and nearly pulled one back just two minutes later. From their first corner of the game, Kevin Dzierzawski’s delivery picked out the head of Scott Ross, but his attempt was cleared off the line by Jason Holt.
It was an encouraging end to the first-half, and Brown was not far away from connecting with Rory McAllister’s low ball across the face of goal.
Rangers had opportunities to add to their lead at the start of the second-half though, the best of which came when Halliday nodded well wide from Forrester’s cross.
McInally shook things up, with Sutherland and Jamie Redman making way for Riley and McIntosh, and it nearly paid off, with Riley coming close with a strike that hit the side netting of Wes Foderingham’s goal on the hour mark.
Rangers went in search of a third, with Tavernier’s cross evading Miller, before Smith did well to keep out Halliday’s point-blank effort, as well as making a fine save with his feet to deny Tavernier’s low drive.
The Gers were awarded a penalty with five minutes remaining though, when Peterhead captain Steven Noble halted the progress of Holt, with Halliday stepping up to strike the penalty low beyond the dive of Smith, while Miller tucked home from close-range to add a late fourth.