Senior Rangers star dazzles for B team in midweek rout but Ibrox summer signing hit with injury blow

Ianis Hagi was one of the stars of the show as a Rangers ‘B’ team performed on Tuesday night.

The Light Blues won a Glasgow Cup tie 5-0 against Partick Thistle thanks to a Findlay Curtis hat-trick. One senior star involved in the game was Ianis Hagi, with the playmaker back in first-team plans after a contract dispute was resolved. Rangers’ senior side face Olympiacos in the Europa League on Thursday but Hagi is not part of the squad, so has stayed at home.

Hagi netted the opener, as Chris Eadie was the other star on the scoresheet. There was some disappointment over Clinton Nsiala though, as the summer arrival from AC Milan was substituted with an injury.

Speaking after the game to Rangers TV, Coach Malky Thomson said: “It was a good team performance first and foremost. I think we played in the first half against a well organised Partick Thistle team; they had experience not only on the pitch but also on the sideline with Craig Dargo whom I played with at Inverness.

“We had to be patient and keep moving the ball, but I thought we dominated in the second half and managed to get goals.

“There were a lot of things that we were doing that was good, but it didn’t culminate in scoring goals. There was a lot of experience on the pitch and we knew we had to keep breaching their backline and creating chances.

“It’s like any game that you play in: getting the first goal always gives people a bit of confidence and creates a more relaxed atmosphere through the team. You saw that when we managed to score the goal, then obviously we ran away with it.”