Rangers under-19s were handed a lesson by Ajax after they fell to a 6-2 defeat at Firhill on their final bow in the UEFA Youth League group stage. But they did have to play over an hour with 10 men after Bailey Rice was shown red.
David Kalokoh put the visitors in front, after Skye Vinks earlier effort had been chalked off for offside. Ross McCausland fought back with a quick-fire double for the young Gers before Kalokoh grabbed his brace on the stroke of half-time to level the proceedings. Then Raphael Sarto, Chachine Van Bohemen, Rida Chahid and Yorham Boerhout all added to the deficit in the second half as Ajax capped off a dominant showing.
The result means David McCallum's men finish in third place with two wins from their six fixtures, both coming against bottom side Napoli. While the win ensures Ajax finish second, two points behind Group A winners Liverpool, who were 5-0 winners on the final match day.
Ajax started the game on the front foot with Vink's goal ruled out for offside after just three minutes before Kalokoh broke the deadlock five minutes later as the 17-year-old dazzled past two defenders and slotted the ball into the bottom corner. Olaf Gorter had a chance to double the visitors lead from close range then Rangers were reduced to 10 men as Rice was shown a straight red for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
But the Light Blues didn't let that setback affect them with McCausland equalising on 30 minutes after Robbie Ure's header was cleared off the line. McCausland was on the scoresheet again shortly after as he put the hosts in front against the run of play.
McCallum's men looked to be going into the break a goal ahead until Kalokoh unleashed a spectacular effort beyond Gers stopper Jacob Pazikas to equalise right on the half-time whistle.
Ajax came out for the second half meaning business and dominated the bulk of possession but it took until the 56th minute to make the man advantage count as Sarto put the Dutch outfit in front courtesy of a deflection.
The one way traffic continued and Van Bohemen added another soon after with an ambitious strike from 30-yards out. Then Chahid finished off a brilliant move at the back post to make it five for the visitors before Boerhout rounded off the scoring with a low finish in stoppage time.
There is a chance for redemption when the two senior sides meet at Ibrox tonight in Champions League Group A. Rangers require a five goal victory to leapfrog the Eredivisie outfit into a Europa League spot while a two or more goal deficit in Ajax's favour would inflict Gio van Bronckhorst's side with an unwanted record.
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