Queens Park Preview - Scottish Cup 25/26

Rangers host Queen’s Park on Sunday in the 5th round of the Scottish Cup. Most early round ties against lower tier teams can feel like a bit of a drag. A drab affair with little jeopardy and even less excitement. This fixture, however, needs no drumming up.

The game takes place almost exactly a year on from that result against Queen’s Park, arguably one of the most humiliating scores in Rangers’ 154-year history. No one connected to the club needs reminded of the indelible horrors of that day. The listless, pathetic performance from the players, the fact that Queen’s Park had one shot the entire match, the missed penalty from Tavernier with the last kick of the game. Even thinking about it a year on is enough to make me cry. For me personally, as a fairly young Rangers fan, it is one worst I’ve felt supporting the club, along with the Progrès Niederkorn result, the Scottish Cup loss to Hibs, Rangers 1 – 7 Liverpool, Club Brugge 6 – 0 Rangers, and the numerous humiliating Old Firm defeats (it’s not been easy supporting this club).

However, times have changed. Since the last time these two-teams met, Rangers have had three different managers and an entire facelift to the squad. And for the first time in a long time, some optimism has replaced the malaise. The side are now unbeaten in 9 domestic games thanks to the assured stewardship of Danny Röhl. Whilst still not entirely free flowing in attack, the defence now looks like the sturdiest in the country. Fears of a repeat of last year’s result have certainly been attenuated.

However, it is important not to underestimate Queen’s Park. Whilst they sit rock bottom of the Championship, history proves no result can be taken for granted. Likely to sit deep in a compact back five, their gameplan will be the typical underdog approach of being compact at the back and throwing punches in the form of counterattacks. Provided the home side maintain concentration, those punches shouldn’t be knockout blows.

Beyond the opportunity to right a wrong, this fixture is a good chance to bleed in some of the new signings. Thursday night saw Skov Olsen and Rommens impress from the bench whilst Chukwuani has looked assured in his three appearances so far. Scottish football can be very physical and tough to settle in to, and at Rangers, where every opponent bar Celtic sit back, breaking down a set defence is 80% of the job. Sunday will be the same story, just against ostensibly weaker opposition. Putting two, three, or even all four of the new signings in the lineup could prove salient in building experience and confidence ahead of the domestic run in.

The Scottish Cup itself is always important but in the context of Rangers and Celtic’s trophy race, it takes on more meaning. Celtic currently sit on 120 major trophies won in their history, two more than Rangers. To some, records and history is trivial and irrelevant. After all, some of these titles came two centuries ago and the only important trophy is the next one.

But Rangers and Celtic are clubs imbued with history. The 100+ years of battling it out for silverware is why they are who they are. The Old Firm are trapped in history and history is trapped in them. That is why this year’s Scottish Cup matters that bit extra. If Celtic win the cup and the league this year, they move four trophies ahead. If Rangers win them, they move back on level terms. Call it pedantic, call it stuck in the past, call it whatever you want. But to most Rangers fans, history is every bit as important as the present.

And so Queen’s Park provides a golden opportunity on Sunday - an opportunity to exorcise the demons of the past. For many fans, the ghosts of last year still haunt them, waking them up in the middle of the night, screaming after seeing visions of Tavernier’s missed penalty. Now, Tavernier and Co. must banish those ghosts to the afterlife once and for all.