Rangers manager Stuart McCall says there is still a lot of hard work ahead of his side after they claimed a narrow 2-1 victory over Queen of the South in the first leg of their Scottish Premiership play-off quarter-final at Palmerston Park.
Steven Smith gave Rangers a 44th-minute lead with a superbly hit free-kick before Derek Lyle headed in a 64th-minute leveller.
However, Dean Shiels sent a looping header beyond keeper Zander Clark 11 minutes later to give Rangers a slender advantage to take into next Sunday’s return leg at Ibrox.
The win has given the fallen Glasgow giants’ dreams of promotion back to the Scottish Premiership a major boost but, with a potential further five matches still ahead of them, McCall insists no one at the club is getting carried away.
“I don’t know if we are firm or clear favourites, but we are delighted to be going back with a lead; there is no doubt about that,” the Rangers manager said.
“But football can change so quickly so nobody is getting carried away about anything. There are no high fives in the changing room.
“I’m always confident with the forward players and the creativity we’ve got that we will create opportunities and definitely at Ibrox on a bigger park.
“But we know it’s only half-time and all the hard work is still to be done to get into the next round of the play-offs.
“We’ve got a good week now of analysing and looking forward to what we will do next Sunday.
“At Ibrox we always think we can create and hopefully we can keep the back door shut like we’ve done for large spells today.
“We’ve done half a job. Hopefully it’s just a sixth of a job and we’ve still got another five games to go, but we will see what the future brings.”
The winners of the tie will face Hibernian, who pipped Rangers to second spot in the Scottish Championship, in the play-off semi-final.
And Queen of the South manager James Fowler says he saw enough from his side in the first leg to believe they are in with a chance of progressing to the next round.
“I said to the boys at half-time that I thought they had played well in the first half. I thought they came out in the second half and played even better than that,” Fowler said.
“I think if we go to Ibrox and play like that we can go there and get a result. We’ve got quality players and we will maybe make one or two changes depending on the personnel. We know we need to go there and get a win. I think the players can be pleased with their performance today.
“We are right in there. I think if we can get the first goal there it would make it really interesting so we will go and play on the front foot there and take the game to Rangers and hopefully we can get a result.”
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
THE SPECS
Cadillac XT6 2020 Premium Luxury
Engine: 3.6L V-6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 367Nm
Price: Dh280,000
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
4. Nadia Taryam (UAE) Askaria 3 39.63
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics