Rangers boss Mark Warburton says his side must learn from Falkirk defeat

Rangers boss Mark Warburton said his side must learn from their mistakes after they blew a two-goal lead to suffer a last-gasp 3-2 defeat at Falkirk.

The Championship leaders were two ahead inside nine minutes after Kenny Miller and Barrie McKay goals and threatened to blow the home side away during the opening 45 minutes.

However, Blair Alston and substitute Myles Hippolyte brought the sides level in the second half before Bob McHugh's winner in stoppage time stunned Rangers.  

Warburton said: "What we did well we just stopped doing. We started really brightly, we talked about moving the ball quickly, maintaining shape in the wide areas. We were two up and, with respect, could have been five, six, seven. Should have been.

"There were a couple of warning signs, some loose passes and we spoke at  half-time about taking care of the football, keep moving it, and inexplicably we didn't do that.

"As a group of players we have gone from nine out of 10 to four out of 10, which can't happen, hasn't happened. They have been outstanding all season but we have to learn from that second half because for 30 minutes we were poor.

"They were playing so well in the first half that it was almost too easy. Peter [Houston] knows what I mean by that. In the second half the players took an extra touch, they thought they could afford to. We are very good when we move the ball quickly."

Rangers were watched by Ronny Deila ahead of the Scottish Cup semi-final and when asked what the Celtic boss would have taken from the match, Warburton said: "I don't mind... I hope he enjoyed the game."

An emotionally-drained Houston feared the worst after 10 minutes but his players went on to surpass his wildest expectations.

"If I'm being perfectly brutal and honest, at half-time I was delighted to be 2-0 down," the Falkirk boss said. "I have got to give Rangers credit. First half, their pace, power, movement, we couldn't live with it. We absolutely couldn't live with it. I thought they were magnificent. They were ripping through us. That's the best I have seen Rangers.

"We tinkered the formation and made substitutions that worked. I asked the players at half-time: can we be the team that scores the first goal in the second half? And then you never know - 2-1 becomes that dodgy score.

"If I'm being honest I would have settled for 2-2, but the character of this Falkirk team throughout the season has been superb, and that sums them up. It's 2-2 against Rangers but they are not settling for that, they are wanting the winner and thankfully we got it."