Two goals in 2 mins .. you could smell Rangers' fear

May 25 2008 Gordon Waddell

DID you hear it? They didn't roar, the Rangers end - they exhaled.

They've played every game of every tournament they entered this season bar one - they managed to avoid a Cup replay against the Shire.

And all they could feel as referee Stuart Dougal gave that last blast of his whistle was RELIEF.

Relief there was still a trickle left after 68 games. Relief that a season which had promised so much didn't end in ignominy, with only the CIS Cup to show for it.

For so long they've been running on fumes, coughing and spluttering their way to the finish line. The fans, as much as the players. Emotionally drained.

It's hard to imagine what was going through their minds when magnificent, gutsy Queens pegged them back to 2-2.

But they say adversity reveals character - and one last time Rangers found some to salvage a double for boss Walter Smith.

It might be scant consolation compared to the two trophies they let slip - but after the week they've had, they'll take it and feel grateful. Did they deserve it?

Only the most heartless would say Gordon Chisholm's men didn't earn at least another half hour for the way they and their fans made a final to remember. Queens can hold their heads high. They've come to Hampden twice in a month, scored six, conceded six.

They've given the nation an injection of what makes the Cup so special.

And they did it from minute one.

You'd barely have known Rangers were there. Their end filled up like a dripping tap would fill a bath.

The fans' only early contribution on their big day was a chorus of "You can stick yer Kenny Miller up yer a**e". Nice.

Up the other end, a big day out was happening. You could feel the giddiness.

Behind the goal Kenny Brannigan was running Queens through their warm-up, pacing like a caged tiger, growling at anyone unable to find top gear.

This was it. Their shot. Their once in a lifetime. They had earned it with the way they took out Aberdeen in the semis.

And for 20 minutes they gave it their best shot at unsettling a Gers team they hoped had nothing left to give.

But Ally McCoist provided inspiration to his side.

Twice the Gers legend walked the 40 yards to the touchline like he had an AK47 in his arms, battering out a hail of bullets at the white shirts he saw slacking.

Which was pretty much most of them.

Lackadaisical running, loose passing - the kind of Billy Big-Time, Saturday afternoon stroll attitude McCoist knew would hurt Rangers if he let it go a minute longer.

Yet to be fair to them they dragged something from the depths.

Kris Boyd's battered strike was so hard it was a mirror image of Davie Cooper's in the Skol Cup Final against Aberdeen.

But for all its brute force, Gers' second would have hurt Queens more, a collection of mistakes they'll have spent the past four weeks working to avoid.

And just like the semi you thought "That's it, dream over."

Every time they scored against the Dons they coughed one straight back and you thought they were goners. Yet each time, they confounded you - just like they did here. For 10 minutes at the start of the second half, you could have put Man United in front of Queens and they'd probably have believed they were going to pump them. Whatever Chisholm and Brannigan said in the dressing room, it worked. Bang. Two in two minutes and the place was in uproar.

You could smell the adrenalin. And you could smell fear from the Rangers end.

But there's a danger running on high octane - you burn bright then fade away.

And with 20 minutes left the Dumfries side started mainlining lactic acid. You could see legs get heavier, see clearances find white instead of blue.

It never gets to the heart but it's how it hits the legs that matters.

And Queens ended up pinned back once to often, Boyd rising over the otherwise outstanding Bob Harris to head home.

Until then you would have needed an elephant gun to put them out of this competition. But that was the silver bullet.