Rangers vs Morton. Scottish Cup Fifth Round.
Ibrox StadiumAttendance30,295.
Monday 13 February 2017 17:19, UK
Rangers began life without Mark Warburton with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Greenock Morton in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup on Sunday.
Goals from Kenny Miller and Martyn Waghorn helped secure the hosts a place in the next round of the competition after the visitors had threatened to cause an upset following Michael Tidser's early strike.
Rangers were looking for some respite on the pitch after a tumultuous week off it, the Govan club rocked by Warburton's dramatic departure on Friday night and the subsequent fallout.
Interim boss Graeme Murty would have been desperate to get the home fans on side with a quick start at Ibrox but it was the visitors who took an early lead when Tidser's speculative volley in the seventh minute managed to beat Wes Foderingham from long range.
Rangers needed a swift response and it came just six minutes later through the ever-reliable Miller, who converted Barry McKay's blocked shot courtesy of a deflection off Lee Kilday, which took the ball past a helpless Derek Gaston.
The home side nearly then took the lead when Emerson Hyndman hit the bar with a curling effort as Morton struggled to hold back wave after wave of Rangers attack.
Morton managed to reach the half-time interval still level on the scoreboard but they were made to rue a missed opportunity shortly after the restart when a loose header from Philippe Senderos Tidser to play in Aidan Nesbitt, only for his right-footed shot to clear the bar.
Rangers finally took the lead on 61 when Waghorn tapped home from two yards out after Hyndman - played in by Jason Holt - had seen his angled shot parried.
Both Waghorn and Michael O'Halloran were guilty of wasting chances in the closing stages and Rangers might have paid in the final minute of the game when Luke Donnelly, on loan from Celtic, miscued his shot over the bar with Foderingham stranded after a mix-up at the back.
However, the home side held out to secure their place in the next round of the cup, Dunfermline or Hamilton lying in wait.
