Rangers remain on track for a domestic treble after beating Partick Thistle 4-1 at Tynecastle to retain the Sky Sports Cup.

In front of over 4,000 spectators at Tynecastle – a record for the Sky Sports Cup final – Rangers were heavy favourites to retain the trophy and didn’t disappoint despite a determined start by their part-time opponents.

Partick Thistle, competing in their first women’s cup final, had never beaten Rangers in 10 previous meetings and gave a good account of themselves early on in Edinburgh. They fell behind in the 13th minute when Mia McAulay fired home after racing onto a long ball but were soon level when a stunning Rachel Donaldson strike found the top corner from outside the area.

Despite impressing in the first half, the Jags trailed again 10 minutes before the break when Rachel Rowe produced her own piece of magic, and Jo Potter’s team effectively put the result beyond doubt in first-half stoppage time when Rio Hardy – who later missed an open goal – slotted past Ava Easdon following a quick-one two with Jane Ross.

Partick Thistle needed something special to turn the final around but any hopes of an incredible comeback were ended just eight minutes into the second half when Olivia McLoughlin swept home from close range to give Rangers a 4-1 lead. Rangers captain Nicola Docherty almost added a fifth goal late on but her effort struck a post and that proved to be the final action of the game.

The victory marks Potter’s first piece of silverware since taking charge of Rangers in the summer of 2023 and could be the start of a potential treble, with her side leading the Scottish Women’s Premier League by one point and already in the semi-finals of the Scottish Women’s Cup.

Rangers remain on track to become just the second Scottish team to win all three domestic trophies and the first since Glasgow City achieved the feat for the fifth time at the end of the 2014-15 season.

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What’s next?

Rangers return to Scottish Women’s Premier League action next Sunday when they host Hibernian at Broadwood Stadium; kick-off 2pm.

Up next for Partick Thistle is a home match against Hearts on the same day at Petershill Park, with kick-off at the slightly earlier time of 12.10pm.

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Frazer Clarke admits he has the weight of the amateur boxing scene on his shoulders as he prepares to take on Fabio Wardley at the O2 Arena on Easter Sunday.

The 32-year-old arrives as an Olympic bronze medallist with vast experience on the amateur scene, while Wardley originates from a background of white-collar fights.

For Clarke, who is also a Commonwealth gold medallist, defeat would represent a significant blow to everything he stands for with regards to his career path.

“I look through all the comments and I had a message and it said ‘the amateur boxing reputation in England is on your shoulders’,” said Clarke on The Gloves Are Off on Sky Sports at 9.30pm on Sunday.

“I’m one of those advocates, when you see all these kids turning pro at 18 or 19, I’m like: ‘What are you doing? You’ve got to try and aim for those Olympic Games and World Championships – it’s important’. I go and say that at all the gyms.

“If I lose to this man and then go to the gyms they’ll go: ‘We aren’t listening to you, we’ll go sell a few tickets and fight the man from the pub in the local leisure centre’.

“I thrive on that idea, I’m going to be the reason these guys are winning junior championships and thinking about turning professional, because these snake promoters that offer them some pennies and their eyes light up, I’ll be the reason to say: ‘Listen, go learn your trade, go around the world, go get different experiences’.”

Clarke suggested his opponent had “overachieved” as a professional boxer, to which Wardley labelled his rival as “old” and insisted he had more to come.

Wardley, who was jokingly called a cruiserweight by Clarke during the episode, is relishing the opportunity to deliver a dent to his opponent’s career.

“There’s more pressure on him, he carrying the whole of the ABA on his back,” said Wardley.

“If he loses to me, what does that say? He says he’s the guy to run around and advise all these kids on how to do it and stay in the amateurs and go around the world to get experience, which he’s done for years.

“Say he does all of that, loses to me, what does that say about his record? I’m expected to lose, the white-collar fighter is expected to lose against the Olympic bronze medallist. Put that on the title.

“Where do you go after? When you lose it’s done.”

Wardley deems the fight his final acid test before stepping up to the “next level”, and has vowed to drag Clarke to the “dark place” in which he believes he thrives in the ring.

“I love it there. It’s my favourite place to be,” he said.

“You can see it in my fights, I aim for that place. I’ll drag you down there with me and we’ll find out.

“You say you’ve got heart, let’s see if it’s there. I’ll stand there if you want to stand there.”

Wardley is undefeated at 17-0 having won 16 of his contests by way of knockout, including a seventh-round stoppage of fellow British heavyweight David Adeleye last October.

Clarke is primed for the most difficult outing of his short professional career as he looks to move to 9-0.

“Toughest one by about 100 miles compared to what I’ve been in with,” he said.

“A guy that is focused and ambitious, these are the hardest ones. It’s going to be a difficult night, but guess what? I’m prepared for that.”

Frazer Clarke and Fabio Wardley will collide in a ‘Bad Blood’ showdown for the British and Commonwealth titles on Sunday March 31 at The O2 in London, live on Sky Sports; the flamboyant Ben Whittaker will feature on the undercard, as will Viddal Riley vs Mikael Lawal.

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