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East Stirlingshire vs Rangers (SFL 3rd) 27/04/2013 KO 12:45 BST

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Lofty.

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Today Rangers travel to bottom of the table East Stirlingshire for a match with little more than pride to play for. Following a run of eight successive league defeats, East Stirling are now ten ten points behind ninth place Annan Athletic, with only two left to play. Meanwhile Rangers are of course, well out of sight at the top of the table, with the SFL 3 title in the bag.

Back in August, Rangers won the previous encounter at Ochilview Park 6-2, with goals coming from Lee McCulloch (two penalties), Andy Little, Lee Wallace 50, Kevin Kyle, and Kal Naismith.

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Early Team News: Wallace Out, Cribari In

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ALLY MCCOIST will be without vice-skipper Lee Wallace this weekend as a knee injury rules the left-back out of Rangers' penultimate SFL3 fixture against East Stirlingshire.

Wallace, who has made 42 appearances in all competitions this season, will not be risked at Ochilview but he is expected to be fit for the club’s final game against Berwick at Ibrox on May 4.

Emilson Cribari is back but he is the only player that will bolster the squad ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Shire following the 2-1 defeat to Peterhead last weekend.

With this being the case McCoist will once again draft in a couple of his younger players and hopes they can impress.

Speaking at today’s press conference at Murray Park he said: “I said to the boys we want to end our season on a high and win our two games.

“Again we have had a horrendous time with injuries and Lee Wallace won’t make it tomorrow as he has a knee niggle.

“He probably could have played at a push but there is no point and I would hope he would return for our home match next week against Berwick.

“Emilson Cribari is back, he trained this morning, so he is back in the squad but the game will be an opportunity for us to have a look at a couple of our younger boys as well.

"Lewis Macleod is also back in training and looking well while Darren Cole is another lad who is coming back and he has been training.

“I know it is the wrong end of the season in terms for them but we hope they can get a game in the next ten days so we can make sure they are ready for the start of next season.â€

 
Team News: Three Changes For Gers

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ALLY MCCOIST has made three changes to his starting XI for Rangers’ final away fixture in the Scottish Third Division against East Stirlingshire at Ochilview Park.

Following last weekend’s disappointing 2-1 defeat to Peterhead at Ibrox the manager has shuffled his pack with Emilson Cribari returning to the side while Kal Naismith and Robbie Crawford have also been given the nod.

They replace the injured Lee Wallace, Chris Hegarty who is ill and Fraser Aird who drops to the bench as the Light Blues look to claim three points from their penultimate game of the 2012/13 campaign.

Between the posts is the ever-present Neil Alexander and in front of him will be a back four consisting of Seb Faure and Andy Mitchell at right and left back respectively with skipper Lee McCulloch joining Cribari in the heart of defence.

In midfield Kal Naismith will start on the right flank and Robbie Crawford on the left with Ian Black and Kyle Hutton in the engine room.

Up top David Templeton will provide support to Andy Little who will hoping to add to the 25 goals he has scored this season.

On a young bench for Rangers is keeper Alan Smith, Luca Gasparotto, Fraser Aird, Danny Stoney and Andy Murdoch.

RANGERS (4-4-1-1): Alexander; Faure, McCulloch, Cribari, Mitchell; Naismith, Hutton, Black, Crawford; Templeton, Little

Subs: Smith, Gasparotto, Aird, Stoney, Murdoch
 

 
Rangers fans at East Stirling:

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Guard of Honour for the SL3 Champions:

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East Stirlingshire 2-4 Rangers

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RANGERS made it four wins out of four against East Stirlingshire this season but today’s 4-2 victory at Ochilview was far from straightforward for the Champions.

Robbie Crawford’s well-taken goal after just six minutes got them off to the best possible start but Paul Quinn’s penalty levelled the scoring before Shire’s number 9 Kevin Turner saw red for a poor challenge on Ian Black after 30 minutes.

With an hour of the game left it looked as though Rangers would make the most of their advantage but to be fair to John Coughlin’s men they showed plenty of spirit before Rangers’ shifted through the gears towards the end of the second half.

David Templeton’s free-kick before half time was a moment of class but again the home side never gave up and made it 2-2 on 50 minutes through Quinn’s header.

Rangers had to up the tempo and they did that with Ian Black finishing well with 65 minutes on the clock before Templeton again produced a calm and composed finish to complete the scoring at 4-2.

With Lee Wallace out with a knee problem and Chris Hegarty ill, McCoist was forced to make three changes to his team with Emilson Cribari returning from injury to join Lee McCulloch in the centre of defence and Andy Mitchell slotting in at left back.

With Fraser Aird dropping to the bench this allowed Kal Naismith and Crawford to come back into the side on the right and left wings respectively.

The East Stirlingshire players produced a nice touch before kick-off when they held a guard of honour and applauded the Rangers players as they walked out on to the 3G surface while Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’ blasted out of the PA system.

The travelling Bears appreciated the gesture and it was not long before they were celebrating the opening goal.

Naismith found a yard of space on the right wing and his low delivery to the front post was met by Crawford who clipped the ball into the net having made an excellent run across the defender.

Having lost 6-2 to Rangers at Ochilview back in November the early signs weren’t good for the Shire but they regrouped with former Murray Park kid Max Wright on the left wing seeing a lot of the ball.

Indeed it was his right foot cross which led to Shire’s equaliser on 22 minutes. Mitchell was judged to have pushed Turner in the back and referee Barry Cook immediately pointed to the spot.

Mitchell was booked as a result and Quinn powered his spot kick straight down the middle of Neil Alexander’s goal with the keeper diving to his left.

This certainly wasn’t in the script and on 30 minutes the game changed again when Turner was sent off. The striker appeared to stamp down on Black when going into a tackle and the official had no hesitation in pulling out his red card despite protests from the player’s teammates.

Despite being a man down Shire continued to work hard and close down the Rangers players quickly but before half time the visitors got their noses back in front after a free-kick had been awarded 20 yards from Grant Hay’s goal.

Templeton stepped up and his superbly executed effort curled around the wall before nestling in the net.

Rangers were now in the driving seat but proceeded to shoot themselves in the foot on 49 minutes when the ten men made it 2-2.

A good cross from Ricky Miller found Quinn in acres of space in between Faure and McCulloch and his header from six yards beat Alexander.

Rangers were rattled and things could have got worse when centre half Chris Moffat met David Greenhill’s corner but his header went wide of target.

On 54 minutes McCoist made his first change with defender Luca Gasparotto replacing Kal Naismith, a move that allowed McCulloch to join Little in attack.

Before the hour mark a header from the Ulsterman brought out a good save from Hay before a Mitchell free-kick from 25 yards fizzed past the post.

On 65 minutes the third goal finally arrived and it followed good build-up play. Little's clever flick found Black who had burst forward and his left foot shot across Hay crept into the bottom corner of the net.

It was the midfielder’s second goal of the season and it could not have come at a better time with the Rangers supporters starting to voice their frustration.

With 11 minutes left to play Templeton made it 4-2. Substitute Danny Stoney’s dangerous cross was missed by McCulloch but the ball fell to Templeton at the back post and he coolly found the net to make it 4-2 after a neat bit of skill had tricked a Shire defender.

RANGERS: Alexander; Faure, McCulloch, Cribari, Mitchell; Naismith (Gasparotto 54), Hutton (Murdoch 80), Black, Crawford; Templeton, Little (Stoney 72)

Subs: Smith, Aird

Bookings: Mitchell, Hutton

REF: Barry Cook

ATTN: 2,885

 
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