James Tavernier hits hat-trick as Rangers thrash Queen’s Park in Scottish Cup

Captain James Tavernier scored a first-half hat-trick as rampant Rangers ensured there would be no Scottish Gas Scottish Cup humiliation repeat against Queen’s Park with a thumping 8-0 win at Ibrox.

The Championship’s bottom side famously beat the Light Blues 1-0 at the same stage of the competition almost to the day in Govan last year, but they suffered badly on their return.

In his first start since signing from German third-tier side Hansa Rostock on deadline day, striker Ryan Naderi scored his first Gers goal with a header in the eighth minute before Tavernier fired in a second 10 minutes later.

The full-back added a third from a corner in the 26th minute when visiting keeper Calum Ferrie, who saved a last-gasp penalty from Tavernier in last year’s shock win at Ibrox, punched the ball into his own net, then he completed his treble from the spot in the 39th minute before Matthew Shiels scored an own goal just before the break.

The second half continued as an attack-versus-defence exercise with Naderi grabbing his second in the 49th minute with a close-range header and fellow forward Bojan Miovski getting his goal in the 80th minute, also with a header, before Tochi Chukwuani completed the romp with his first Rangers goal at the end.

The Rangers board and management had changed since the embarrassing defeat by the Spiders last season, as had the team.

As expected, Danny Rohl rotated his squad with goalkeeper Liam Kelly, Tavernier, Tuur Rommens, Dujon Sterling, Chukwuani, Oliver Antman and Naderi coming in.

The visitors, who had only got through to the fifth round due to Stranraer being expelled for fielding an ineligible player in the previous round, were under pressure from the first whistle.

A well-worked Gers corner in the fourth minute ended with Ferrie pulling off a fine diving save from Rommens’ drive from the edge of the box, with another corner defended.

However, from a Tavernier corner, Naderi found himself unmarked, and it was a simple header which sped past Ferrie.

There was a scare for the hosts in the 16th minute when, in the Spiders’ first attack, Aidan Connolly swept a cross past Kelly, but he was clearly offside.

Moments later, after battling for a looping Mohamed Diomande cross, Tavernier reacted quickly to drive into the net from six yards before Ferrie’s horror mistake from the 34-year-old’s inswinging corner left the Light Blues three goals to the good and the visitors in disarray.

When Roddy MacGregor was adjudged by referee Ross Hardie to have stopped a goal-bound shot from Andreas Skov Olsen, Tavernier sent Ferrie the wrong way with his penalty.

Chukwuani, signed from Sturm Graz, skimmed in a header from a Tavernier corner, and Shiels knocked it into the net before the interval, allowing the shell-shocked visitors some respite, only for the onslaught to continue after the break as Naderi headed in a delightful cross from Antman in the 49th minute.

Rangers retained control of the game and, when substitute Jayden Meghoma curled in a cross from the right, Miovski glanced his header past the helpless Ferrie, and in the final moments, Chukwuani swept the ball into the net from 12 yards to round off an emphatic win.