Allan McGregor was sent off as Rangers hung on for a 0-0 draw at Hibernian in the Scottish Cup fifth round.
Keeper off in Scottish Cup stalemate
Allan McGregor was sent off late on as Rangers hung on for a 0-0 draw at Hibernian in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.
The Gers keeper was dismissed for bringing down Dean Shiels with three minutes to go, but Hibs were unable to capitalise in the closing stages.
Rangers enjoyed the brighter start and could have had a penalty inside the opening 60 seconds when Steven Naismith tumbled to the turf due to the combined attentions of Kevin McCann and Chris Hogg.
Barry Ferguson should have put the visitors in front on 14 minutes, but he failed to connect cleanly with Chris Burke's low cross, although Hibs keeper Yves Ma-Kalambay was still forced into a save on the stretch.
Lee McCulloch turned Sasa Papac's cross over at the near post and the Gers striker then headed a diagonal ball from Charlie Adam back across goal and wide.
Hibs slowly came into the game and five minutes before half-time could have gone in front when Shiels dallied before seeing his shot deflected wide.
From the resulting corner, Steven Fletcher stooped to head the ball beyond McGregor, but Naismith was on hand to clear off the line.
The home side continued the improvement in the second period with Fletcher stinging McGregor's palms with a well-struck drive from outside the box.
Just past the hour mark, Fletcher raced clear of the defence to skip round McGregor, but Papac was back to head the striker's goalbound shot to safety.
With five minutes to go, Hibs' new signing John Rankin wriggled clear, but his low shot was held by McGregor before the Gers keeper was sent off.
Shiels raced beyond the visiting defence and touched the ball past the onrushing McGregor before being felled just outside the area.
The red card was inevitable, but Rangers survived the closing moments to hold out and earn a replay at Ibrox.
