The almost inevitable has been confirmed, Rangers Scottish Cup quarter-final tie against Raith Rovers will be played on Sunday 12th March.
Death, taxes…and Rangers at home in the Scottish Cup on a Sunday. It appears that those are the guarantees in life!
The visit of Raith Rovers to Ibrox was pretty much guaranteed not to be able to be played on the Saturday due to the rugby situation and the prime tie of the round, Hearts v Celtic. The Friday night slot was also ruled out as Michael Beale’s men travel to Leith to take on Hibs just two days earlier on Wednesday 8th March.
The TV selections were confirmed this morning by the Scottish FA.
📺 @ViaplaySportsUK will show @JamTarts v @CelticFC and @RangersFC v @RaithRovers.#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/oV4OG0su7H
— Scottish Gas Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) February 16, 2023
The Sunday slot is likely to be the preferred option for Beale and the management, meaning that after Hibs, there will be three full days before the next assignment. That will be helpful from a training and recovery perspective.
Raith Rovers will have nothing to lose in this quarter-final clash, they will take heart from 2015 during a very different time at Ibrox when the Kirkcaldy side came to Glasgow and secured a 1-2 victory. This time round, things are much different and the full expectation will be for Rangers to secure another Hampden engagement in the last four.
Rangers March fixtures can now be confirmed as follows, with no game in the last weekend of the month due to the international window:
Sat 4 Mar 1500 – Kilmarnock – (H) – Prem
Wed 8 Mar 1945 – Hibs – (A) – Prem
Sun 12 Mar 1300 – Raith – (H) – SC
Sat 18 Mar 1230 – Motherwell – (A) – Prem