Match ends, Partick Thistle 1, Rangers 3.
Daniel Candeias and Eduardo Herrera scored in extra time to knock Partick Thistle out of the Scottish League Cup quarter-final.
The visitors had to regroup after Kris Doolan equalised in the 90th minute.
Carlos Pena had opened the scoring with a second-half header in his first start for the Ibrox side.
Rangers progressed but also gathered injury concerns ahead of Saturday's Old Firm game, with Bruno Alves and Declan John both removed to receive treatment.
Ibrox manager Pedro Caixinha had made three changes to his starting line up, with John and goalkeeper Jak Alnwick coming into the side along with Pena, who was accommodated by a change of shape to 4-3-3.
Rangers started brightly, with Josh Windass spurning an opportunity early on, then Alfredo Morelos and Candeias both missed when one-on-one with Partick Thistle goalkeeper Ryan Scully.
Rangers were ultimately good value for their victory but not for the first time this season, they made life more difficult for themselves than seemed necessary.
The tie should have been decided long before the original 90 minutes were up, but clear-cut chances came and went.
They got away with that on this occasion but surely won't on Saturday against Celtic.
The additional 30 minutes of football was not ideal preparation for that contest and amid their celebrations, Rangers supporters will hope Alves and John will be fit to play, with Lee Wallace also injured and Danny Wilson missing from the squad for this game.
It was after Alves and John departed that Thistle really began to believe they could salvage the tie. They should have been further behind than just one goal.
Pena's glancing header had given Rangers a cushion, but had Windass, Morelos and perhaps most glaringly Candeias taken chances, Caixhina would have been a lot more relaxed.
Thistle grew in confidence as Rangers began to look more anxious and almost on the stroke of 90 minutes struck back when Doolan swivelled inside the six-yard box to fire high past Alnwick, who had produced three good saves to deny Partick Thistle striker Conor Sammon over the course of the match.
Yet having taken the game into extra-time, Alan Archibald's Partick Thistle side quickly relinquished the hard-won parity.
Just as they had at the beginning of the second half, Rangers started extra-time strongly and Candeias made amends for his astonishing earlier miss - when he'd blasted over the bar after rounding Scully - by cutting in from the right before lashing the ball low past the keeper.
And soon after, Herrera cutely flicked the ball beyond Scully to give Rangers the kind of advantage that had eluded them earlier in the evening.
Thistle's wait for a first semi-final since 2002 goes on, as does Rangers' quest for a first major trophy since 2011.
Line-ups
Partick Thistle
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 12Scully
- 5Keown
- 15Devine
- 4TurnbullSubstituted forDoolanat 57'minutes
- 16McGinn
- 13Barton
- 19Edwards
- 14ElliottBooked at 109mins
- 7SpittalSubstituted forNisbetat 83'minutes
- 11LawlessBooked at 13minsSubstituted forBanniganat 105'minutes
- 18Sammon
Substitutes
- 8Bannigan
- 9Doolan
- 17Nitriansky
- 20Nisbet
- 23Sneddon
- 24McCarthy
Rangers
Formation 4-4-1-1
- 25Alnwick
- 2Tavernier
- 4Cardoso
- 22Bruno AlvesSubstituted forMcCrorieat 76'minutes
- 3JohnSubstituted forHodsonat 79'minutesBooked at 114mins
- 21Candeias
- 8Jack
- 10Dorrans
- 11Windass
- 27PeñaSubstituted forHoltat 71'minutes
- 20MorelosSubstituted forHerreraat 90'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Foderingham
- 7Dálcio
- 15Herrera
- 17Hodson
- 23Holt
- 28Nemane
- 40McCrorie
- Referee:
- Steven McLean
- Attendance:
- 7,394
Match Stats
- Possession
- Home41%
- Away59%
- Shots
- Home18
- Away21
- Shots on Target
- Home9
- Away6
- Corners
- Home8
- Away10
- Fouls
- Home17
- Away10
Live Text
Post update
Post update
Second Half Extra Time ends, Partick Thistle 1, Rangers 3.
Post update
Attempt missed. Daniel Candeias (Rangers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is too high.
Post update
Josh Windass (Rangers) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Post update
Foul by Kevin Nisbet (Partick Thistle).
Post update
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Ryan Edwards.
Post update
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Kevin Nisbet.
Post update
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Ryan Scully.
Post update
Attempt saved. James Tavernier (Rangers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Post update
Conor Sammon (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Post update
Foul by Fábio Cardoso (Rangers).
Post update
Corner, Partick Thistle. Conceded by Lee Hodson.
Booking
Lee Hodson (Rangers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Adam Barton (Partick Thistle) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Post update
Foul by Lee Hodson (Rangers).
Post update
Attempt blocked. Jason Holt (Rangers) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Post update
Foul by Niall Keown (Partick Thistle).
Post update
Eduardo Herrera (Rangers) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Booking
Christie Elliott (Partick Thistle) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Graham Dorrans (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Comments
Join the conversation
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Agreed. Thought Holt made a difference when he was introduced. There seems to be a lack of concentration in key moments though. Once the squad gels and we see increased tempo should be slicker. Hererra seemed less sluggish last night. I think Thistle do indeed look good for a top 6 finish
All about the Rangers......you hate us cause you aint us.
on 4 hours ago
"but to be fair they WERE playing a club thats only a few seasons old."
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Are you Tom English in disguise?
What a pumping the other ugly is going to give them at the weekend.
In the meantime, we have weegie tic followers in convulsions, as they dream about winning this years spl title, when they are the only solvent team competing.... LOL. And they too will be pumped soon, in their next European group match...LOL