Rangers left counting cost of Accies shock

Rangers were left with an unexpected replay and fresh injury headaches after the Scottish Cup holders were held to an extraordinary 3-3 draw by Hamilton Academical.

Steven Davis and top goalscorer Kenny Miller both suffered injuries as Scottish Premier League leaders Rangers were pushed all the way by top-flight strugglers Hamilton at New Douglas Park on Sunday.

Rangers were cruising at 2-0 up in the 30th minute after goals from Steven Whittaker and Miller.

But Hamilton hit back with three goals in an astonishing 10 minute burst at the end of the first-half, Simon Mensing starting the recovery from the penalty spot before Marco Paixao and Mickael Antoine-Curier stunned the visitors.

However, Miller’s controversial penalty just after the hour mark brought the score back to 3-3 as Hamilton played out the final 10 minutes a man down following Richie Hastings’s red card.

The result left the teams facing a replay at Ibrox with the winners up against St Mirren in the last 16.

Meanwhile Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist said the Glasgow giants could have done without the setbacks suffered by Davis and Miller.

“Injuries are part and parcel of football,” said McCoist. “We could do without them but hopefully they are not long-term.

“Davis has a dead leg and with his style of play, mobility is important for him and we had to get him off.”

“Kenny has been feeling his groin for a couple of weeks and I don’t think the cold weather helped him.

“Hopefully we got him off in time.

“It’s been a little niggle and the conditions probably played a part today. We could’ve done without injuries but they had no bearing on the goals we lost.

“We won’t know the full extent until the next 48 hours - but the squad is certainly being put to the test over the coming weeks. “I would be lying if said it was not a concern but we have to handle it.”

Reflecting on the match, former Scotland striker McCoist said: “It was everything you would expect from a Scottish Cup tie; there was enough crammed into that game for a few cup ties.

“The first 45 (minutes) were a bit bizarre because we were 2-0 up without really playing well, I couldn’t see where it came from.

“But I also didn’t see Hamilton scoring three goals in 10 minutes. It was a strange feeling to go from being delighted to a little down and we had work to do at half-time.”

GLASGOW, Jan 11, 2010 AFP