RUSSELL MARTIN AT at last enjoyed some positivity as Rangers boss with a 2-0 Premier Sports Cup quarter-final win over Hibernian on a day of fans protest against him at Ibrox.
Chairman Andrew Cavenagh had flown in from the United States amid a growing sense of crisis at the club, with disgruntled fans protesting against Martin and chief executive Patrick Stewart outside the stadium before the game and also at the start of the match.
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Alamy Stock Photo
The turning point came when Hibs captain Martin Boyle had a goal ruled out in the 19th minute for handball, with frustrated Light Blues supporters ready to explode in anger again.
Returning Gers midfielder Nico Raskin headed in a James Tavernier corner in the 42nd minute before striker Bojan Miovski added a second in added time with his first goal for the Govan side since signing from Girona.
It took Rangers into the semi-final draw along with St Mirren, Motherwell and the winners of Sunday’s tie between Partick Thistle and Celtic at Firhill.
There were over 2,000 noisy Hibs fans inside Ibrox, which had thousands of empty blue seats with the official attendance of 34,682 later released.
The Union Bears, the Ultras-style supporters group, had led the pre-match protest outside and inside the stadium, holding aloft posters showing a red diagonal line through photographs of both Martin and Stewart, which were present in all four stands.
There were also ‘Martin Out’ and ‘Stewart Out’ banners unfurled in the Broomloan Stand and in the 11th minute play was stopped after hundreds of coloured balls were thrown from the Copland Stand into Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland’s penalty area.
The Union Bears then held up a banner reading: ‘Delaying the inevitable – Martin must go’ before anti-Martin chants erupted again.
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Rangers progress to Premier Sports Cup semi-finals amid fan protests
RUSSELL MARTIN AT at last enjoyed some positivity as Rangers boss with a 2-0 Premier Sports Cup quarter-final win over Hibernian on a day of fans protest against him at Ibrox.
Chairman Andrew Cavenagh had flown in from the United States amid a growing sense of crisis at the club, with disgruntled fans protesting against Martin and chief executive Patrick Stewart outside the stadium before the game and also at the start of the match.
The turning point came when Hibs captain Martin Boyle had a goal ruled out in the 19th minute for handball, with frustrated Light Blues supporters ready to explode in anger again.
Returning Gers midfielder Nico Raskin headed in a James Tavernier corner in the 42nd minute before striker Bojan Miovski added a second in added time with his first goal for the Govan side since signing from Girona.
It took Rangers into the semi-final draw along with St Mirren, Motherwell and the winners of Sunday’s tie between Partick Thistle and Celtic at Firhill.
There were over 2,000 noisy Hibs fans inside Ibrox, which had thousands of empty blue seats with the official attendance of 34,682 later released.
The Union Bears, the Ultras-style supporters group, had led the pre-match protest outside and inside the stadium, holding aloft posters showing a red diagonal line through photographs of both Martin and Stewart, which were present in all four stands.
There were also ‘Martin Out’ and ‘Stewart Out’ banners unfurled in the Broomloan Stand and in the 11th minute play was stopped after hundreds of coloured balls were thrown from the Copland Stand into Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland’s penalty area.
The Union Bears then held up a banner reading: ‘Delaying the inevitable – Martin must go’ before anti-Martin chants erupted again.
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