Rangers marched into the Scottish Cup final at Ayr's expense at Hampden Park by thrashing the First Division club 7-0. A second-half hat-trick from substitute Billy Dodds and a Seb Rozental double added to goals from Rod Wallace and man-of-the-match Andrei Kanchelskis. The First Division outfit, with on-loan Aston Villa striker Neil Tarrant leading the attack, had already defeated Scottish Premier League Dundee and Motherwell in reaching the semi-finals.But Rangers showed they were taking the tie seriously, despite being clear favourites, by recalling Dutch midfielder Giovanni van Bronckhorst was rested against Dundee United in midweek.
The game started brightly and within the opening 20 seconds Ayr almost carved out an opening as Tarrant's run saw Scott Wilson stumble only for referee John Rowbotham to decide on a foul. Rangers responded instantly, Van Bronckhorst's corner finding its way to Kanchelskis at the edge of the area whose snap shot was well held by Marius Rovde.
Ayr missed a dream opportunity after just five minutes when Glynn Hurst's flicked header fell kindly for Gary Teale but he fired wide from eight yards with only Stefan Klos to beat. Rangers were making a surprisingly uncertain start and an error from Lorenzo Amoruso then gave Mickey Reynolds a sight of goal only for the winger to blaze an angled drive well over the bar.
Rangers wasted a chance to calm their nerves when another accurate Van Bronckhorst corner gave Amoruso a free header which the Ibrox skipper conspired to send over the bar when well-placed. Hurst was causing problems for the Rangers backline and after beating Amoruso in the area struck a half-volley on the turn which sailed over but again signalled confident Ayr's attacking intent.
Van Bronckhorst thumped a powerful volley just over for Rangers after 18 minutes but the overwhelming favourites for the tie were struggling to find their usual momentum. It was not, however, to stop them from taking the lead a minute later, Arthur Numan's long searching pass finding Wallace in space with the time to look up and find a man. He opted to square the ball for an unmarked Rozental, who put his recent below-par form behind him to turn the ball in stylishly from close range for a 1-0 lead.
The goal was harsh on Ayr, but they remained defiant and almost levelled after 22 minutes when Marvyn Wilson hit a 20-yard volley which needed Klos to be alert in the Rangers goal. Moments later a neat exchange of passes between Hurst and Tarrant set up the former for another run at Klos but the resulting shot was looped harmlessly over the crossbar to spoil the move.
Jorg Albertz sent a speculative 35-yard drive narrowly wide as a riposte, but Ayr's danger was to be extinguished in more straightforward manner in Rangers' next attack. Numan's chipped pass was met by the head of van Bronckhorst and seized on by Kanchelskis who stepped inside and struck a low shot home to lift Rangers 2-0 ahead against the run of play.
After their second goal, Rangers at last showed signs of settling, Numan's low driven cross almost turned in by Wallace but for the attentions of Neil Duffy to force the effort wide. Rovde was then forced into a smart save in the 41st minute when Barry Ferguson's shot from distance was deflected after the Scotland midfielder had been played in by Numan.
Rangers effectively settled the contest on 42 minutes when Duffy was beaten by the bounce from an Albertz ball upfield and Wallace raced on to slide the ball in via a post for 3-0. Rangers made a change at the break bringing on both Dodds and Neil McCann for Wallace and Albertz respectively and Dick Advocaat drew on his squad to complete the job.
Kanchelskis remained on the right and his pass set up Rozental two minutes after the restart for a fierce low shot heading for the bottom corner which Rovde did well to push around the post. Ayr almost earned a consolation strike after 52 minutes when Wilson burst into space but his well-controlled shot on the run went just off-target ending up in the side-netting. Klos then had to push a looping Hurst header over the bar from a Teale corner as the 10,000-strong Ayr support encouraged their players forward despite being 3-0 down.
The tempo of the game had now dropped greatly, though Dodds seemed determined to make an impact going close at the near post then seeing another deflected effort fly wide. The extent of Rangers' dominance was summed up by their fourth goal which started in extraordinary manner as Kanchelskis literally stood on the ball before finding Claudio Reyna. Kanchelskis, his showboating complete, then ran into space on the left and after being fed the ball took it to the byeline before crossing for substitute Dodds to tap into an empty net for 4-0.
Kanchelskis was emerging as the game's dominant figure and almost claimed his second and Rangers' fifth goal after 72 minutes with a stunning angled drive which fizzed just over. A minute later and Rangers were five up as Rozental threaded a pass through for Dodds, who sidestepped Rovde before clipping the ball into an empty net.
Ayr's response to that was a male streaker emerging from their support and reaching the centre circle before being halted - finding, like his team, naked ambition only gets you so far. The supporter in question missed Dodds seal a second-half hat-trick after 86 minutes with a simple header, while it was left to Rozental to tap in a crushing seventh in the final seconds.
-Football 365
