Rangers outclass Inverness Caley Thistle to progress in Scottish Cup as record women's crowd packs into Caledonian Stadium
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Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0
Rangers 12 (Ross x2, Maclean, Ewens, Arnot, Hay, Rowe x2, Austin, Hardy x3)
Rangers showed their quality to progress in the Scottish Cup against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in front of a record crowd for women's football in Inverness.
The Caley Jags had called it their biggest match in years, but they were not able to pull off what would have been a monumental cup upset in the Highland capital with over 1000 fans in attendance.
Even just looking at the teamsheet, the gulf in class was apparent – Rangers boasted six Scotland internationals and three more from other nations.
However, it looked at first as though Inverness might frustrate them.
Caley Thistle's own former Scotland player Fin Annand denied legendary goalscorer Jane Ross early doors, but the breakthrough did come in the 10th minute.
The same two players were involved, as Annand spilled a cross from the right wing into Ross' path, leaving her with a tap in to make it 1-0.
It was two soon afterwards, with Kirsty Maclean weaving her way through the middle of the pitch before picking out the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Sarah Ewens made it 3-0, again with a simple finish after a coming together between Annand and Rachel Rowe.
Bella Viana was needed to make a crucial block on her own goalline to stop Rowe making it four, but Rangers would get there regardless when Ross converted Brogan Hay's low cross.
Lizzie Arnot would make it five, before Hay got her own name on the scoresheet before half time to give the Glasgow giants a six-goal advantage going into the break.
Despite making a couple of changes at half time, Rangers did not let up at all after the restart.
Although Annand did make several saves in the second half, she could not prevent Rachel Rowe scoring a seventh goal with the best of the lot to that point – finding the bottom corner from around 20 yards out.
One of the Rangers players that came on at half time may have taken that as a challenge though, as Eilidh Austin scored the visitors' eighth with a great finish to find the top corner.
Rowe would pop up again with her second of the afternoon, firing a half-volley past Annand to make it 9-0 to the Glasgow giants.
Another of Rangers' substitutes, Rio Hardy, would help her side into double figures with a curling effort that found the far corner before making it 11-0 by heading in at a corner kick.
Hardy would have the chance to claim her hat-trick late on when she was taken down inside the Inverness box by a stretching Kayleigh Mackenzie, and the Rangers number 10 would make no mistake, sending Annand the wrong way to complete the scoring.
ICT: Annand, MacArthur, Mackenzie, Deans, Gordon, Cleland, Bodiam, MacRae, Viana, Kelly, Simpson.
Substitutes: Scott, Morgan, Anderson, Donald, Hossack, B. Ross, N. Ross, Murray.
Rangers: Esson, Docherty, Hill, Middag, Cornet, Maclean, Hay, Arnot, Rowe, Ewens, Ross.
Substitutes: Fife, Hardy, Bell, McAulay, Austin, Berry, McLeary, Colson.
Attendance: 1031
