Portsmouth 2 - 0 Rangers Sat 08/08/09

TWO goals from Frederic Piquionne gave Portsmouth a 2-0 win over Rangers in what is the Ibrox club's final pre-season friendly before the start of the 2009/10 season.

The 30-year-old striker, on loan from Lyon, certainly impressed on the day and his well taken header on 31 minutes and cool finish after half-time gave his side a deserved victory against a young Rangers team.

Walter Smith named several of the club's most promising starlets in his squad for this visit to Fratton Park.

John Fleck and Andrew Little were in the starting eleven while Rory Loy, Jamie Ness, Andrew Shinnie, Danny Wilson and Grant Adam were on the bench for kick-off.

As expected Allan McGregor was back in goals with Neil Alexander on international duty along with Kenny Miller, Steven Naismith and Whittaker.

As part of a 4-3-3 formation David Weir, Madjid Bougherra and Sasa Papac joined Little in defence with McCulloch and Mendes featuring alongside 17-year-old Fleck in midfield.

Kris Boyd, Kyle Lafferty and DaMarcus Beasley were given the nod in attack.

3,000 Rangers fans made the trip south for this friendly and, as usual, they were in fine voice as the game got underway in glorious sunshine.

In the opening stages the Light Blues enjoyed plenty of possession and, at times, were the better side.

After only four minutes Little darted in to the box and David James had to be lively to dart from his line and make a fine stop.

On the other side of the pitch Sasa Papac then pushed forward and his 25-yard drive produced a good stop from the England shotstopper.

As this match progressed the home side started to move through the gears but their finishing prior to the half hour mark was wasteful.

This, however, changed on 31 minutes when Piquionne finally broke the deadlock.

Right-back Younes Kaboul floated a teasing cross in to the box and the striker rose above the Gers' defence to glance the ball in to the net.

Portsmouth continued to look dangerous prior to the interval with Croat Niko Kranjcar, in particular posing a constant threat on the left wing but Rangers were still in this game with only a goal separating the sides.

Smith made three changes to his team with Aaron, Steven Davis and Steven Smith on for DaMarcus Beasley, Pedro Mendes and Sasa Papac.

But Portsmouth again came out of the traps quickly and on 51 minutes they got a second goal their play deserved.

Piquionne was again the scorer when he beat David Weir to the ball and he coolly rounded Allan McGregor before rolling the ball in to the net.

With a two-goal advantage now in place the home side, and their supporters, started to enjoy the occasion having endured a difficult pre-season where results have rarely gone their way.

With Rangers retreating Little had to be sharp to block a net bound effort from Kranjcar before Kaboul stung the hands of McGregor with a rocket shot.

As the game progressed more changed followed with both Danny Wilson and Jamie Ness handed their first-team debuts.

The final result of this match will be disappointing for the Gers management team but this trip south of the border will still have been a terrific experience for the young players coming through at Ibrox.

They came up against a strong Portsmouth side that, on this form, could cause a few surprises when the Premiership season gets underway.

Teams

RANGERS: McGregor; Little, Bougherra, Weir, Papac; Fleck, McCulloch, Mendes, Beasley, Boyd, Lafferty,

Subs: Adam, Thomson, Davis, Smith, Velicka, Aaron, Shinnie, Wilson, Loy, Ness,

PORTSMOUTH: ames; Kaboul, Wilson, Distin, Belhadj; Utaka, Mullins, Mokoena, Diop, Kranjcar; Piquionne,

Subs: Ashdown, Craine, Basinas, Ritchie, Bopp, Ward, Mahoto,

Ref:

Man-of-the-match: Fleck

Attendance: