By Sheryl Ritchie

In their second home pre-season friendly, Rangers welcomed Rob Edwards’ Middlesbrough to Ibrox, buoyed by a solid win and, at times, an impressive display against Panathinaikos in Tuesday’s Champions League second-round qualifier. The fixture offered Russell Martin another chance to build momentum ahead of Wednesday’s return leg in Athens, while also providing minutes to fringe players, following a 2-2 draw with Club Brugge at Ibrox nearly two weeks ago.

By contrast, Middlesbrough’s pre-season had been far from convincing, with a 3-3 draw against Mansfield Town and a 2-0 defeat to Bradford.

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The sides have met five times previously, with Rangers winning two and the remaining three ending in draws. Their first encounter came in 1891 – a 1-0 victory for the Glasgow side – and that scoreline was repeated in a 2006 friendly. Martin is also familiar with Boro, having faced them five times as manager of Swansea, Bournemouth, and Southampton – losing on each occasion.

Following a tenth-place Championship finish last season, Boro parted company with Michael Carrick and turned to Rob Edwards in June. The club was reportedly drawn to Edwards’ tactical vision, energy, and proven record in the Championship, with the manager said to have turned down other suitors, including Bristol City.

Martin used this match to rotate his squad, handing a start to captain-for-the-day Liam Kelly in goal. The back four featured Zander Hutton at right-back, Manny Fernandez and Bailey Rice in central defence, and the returning Jefte at left-back. The midfield included Nadim Bajrami, Djeidi Gassama, Connor Barron and Oscar Cortes, with Cyriel Dessers and Josh Gentles leading the line. Among the substitutes were Jack Butland, Kieran Wright, James Tavernier, Max Aarons, Lyall Cameron, Kieran Dowell, Nasser Djiga, Nicolas Raskin, Finlay Curtis and Danilo.

Middlesbrough were without former Rangers defender George Edmundson and Fin Azaz due to injury. They lined up with Sol Brynn in goal and a back three of Dael Fry, Neto Borges (a late replacement for the injured Rav van den Berg), and Darragh Lenihan. Luke Ayling and Sammy Silvera provided width, while Delano Burgzorg and Morgan Whittaker operated either side of central midfielders Law McCabe and Aidan Morris, with Tommy Conway up front.

The match began disjointedly for Rangers, who struggled with possession and tempo. Middlesbrough, sharper in the opening stages, struck in the 8th minute. A long ball over the top—an issue that plagued Rangers last season—caused confusion, and although Jefte cleared for a corner, the resulting delivery exposed familiar set-piece vulnerabilities. Neto Borges bundled the ball over the line, with Kelly and his defence slow to react.

Rangers responded with limited threat. Bajrami fired wide after a swift counter involving Cortes and Gentles, while Kelly was called into action with a strong save from Burgzorg. Boro had the ball in the net again before the half-hour mark, but the flag was raised for offside.

Dessers came closest for Rangers in the first half with a shot pushed wide, though strong penalty claims for a foul in the box were waved away by referee John Beaton.

Martin made one change at the break, introducing Lyall Cameron for Dessers, followed shortly by a flurry of substitutions: Raskin, Tavernier, Danilo, Dowell, Curtis, Aarons, and Djiga entered the fray, replacing Cortes, Bajrami, Jefte, Gassama, Hutton, Gentles and Rice.

Boro doubled their lead in the 56th minute when Dael Fry scored from close range after another defensive scramble that Rangers failed to clear.

To their credit, Rangers responded positively. On 63 minutes, Aarons delivered a pinpoint cross from the right, which Danilo headed home to make it 2-1. With just over ten minutes remaining, Raskin’s header was parried by substitute keeper Tom Glover, and Finlay Curtis reacted quickest to stab the rebound over the line—his third goal in as many appearances at Ibrox to secure the 2-2 draw.

Lyall Cameron’s intelligent movement and tidy link-up play stood out, earning him the Man of the Match award. While defensive frailties were again evident, Martin will take encouragement from his side’s resilience and attacking response.

In his post-match press conference, Martin described the game as “a good training session,” acknowledging the fightback after going two down but also stressing areas of concern. He emphasised the need to strengthen the squad, confirming that the club is “working really hard” to do so.

The manager also expressed frustration at his team’s inability to match Boro’s physicality and intensity, and admitted to disappointment in the attitude of some players during the warm-up and in their response to not starting.

Martin addressed the red card shown to him by referee John Beaton after protesting a strong penalty claim for handball against Ayling: “I’m a passionate guy, I probably overstepped the mark, and I enjoyed watching the game from the stands in the second half – it was a good view from there, actually.” He added that he had apologised to the official and would need to adjust to the refereeing standards in Scotland.

While the performance may not have pushed many fringe players closer to the starting XI, it will no doubt have given Martin a clearer picture of the strengths, vulnerabilities, and character within his squad ahead of a crucial away tie in Athens on Wednesday.

Attendance – 33,066.

Man of the Match – Lyall Cameron.