Scottish Cup Final - Rangers v. Queen of the South
Less then 48 hours after Rangers were beaten 2-0 at Aberdeen, a result that saw Celtic win the title, Rangers step out at Hampden Park to take on League One side Queen of the South.
The FA Cup in England in recent times has suffered from top sides not taking the competition seriously but in this case the Scottish FA have to take a long hard look at the situation.
Rangers are paying the price for a successful season where up until just over a week ago they could possibly have won 4 trophies. However since they lost the UEFA Cup Final to Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester on the 14th May they have played including that game 4 matches in 9 days and today will be 5 in 11 which is a ridiculous situation in any language.
Their opponents today Queen of the South have done superbly well to make the Final having beaten Aberdeen 4-3 in the Semi Final, the 3 goals they conceded in that game being the first they had let in during their Cup run which included wins against non league Linlithgow as well as Morton and Dundee. Also they should have the edge in fitness having not played a competitive game since losing 4-0 to Dunfermline in the League back on 26th April.
However i believe Walter Smith will rally his men for one final effort and though at 3/10 about a Rangers win it is not a betting option for me i hope they can do it as a reward for their efforts in recent weeks, as for the Doonhammers i expect they will be happy dreaming of a place in Europe next term and who knows a trip to fellow UEFA Cup qualifiers AC Milan!
