2 years ago
41
ARTICLE AD BOX
Danilo came off the bench to fire Rangers to a hard-fought comeback victoryMuch-changed Rangers made hard work of dispatching second-tier Greenock Morton to book a Viaplay Cup quarter-final place for an eighth straight season.
Michael Beale made eight switches to his side after Tuesday's European success over Servette, but the Ibrox hosts suffered from the same lack of fluidity as the Championship visitors took a shock second-half lead through a Grant Gillespie penalty.
That moment served as a wake-up call for the home side, who equalised through Cyriel Dessers' spot kick - also awarded after a VAR review - seven minutes later before substitute Danilo fired in the winner.
Rangers failed to add gloss to the hard-fought victory as Ianis Hagi and Abdallah Sima, who also headed off the bar, were denied by inspired visiting keeper Jamie MacDonald.
Backed by a healthy away crowd, Morton forced Jack Butland into action with a Robbie Muirhead free-kick, and Robbie Crawford failed to make the most of a one-on-one opportunity, before Dessers' foul on Kirk Broadfoot allowed Gillespie to convert from the spot.
The second-tier side could have also grabbed an injury-time equaliser, but debutant Johnly Yfeko's last-ditch tackle on George Oakley was followed by former Rangers defender Broadfoot poking over the bar.
It was Broadfoot's tug on Leon Balogun, who had just smashed a volley off a post, that allowed Dessers to slot a quickfire equaliser for Beale's side, who were uninspiring for the majority of the first hour until the introduction of Danilo, Hagi and Sima.
Dessers thought he had opened the scoring after rounding MacDonald, who pulled off fine first-half saves to thwart Rabbi Matondo and Kieran Dowell, but the striker was penalised for a soft foul on O'Connor - a decision that could not be reviewed as the referee had blown.
Beale, whose side were far from convincing again, will be given leeway while his new-look team gels, but questions of his summer recruitment will not go anywhere until performances improve on a more consistent basis.
Player of the match - Jamie MacDonald
The veteran keeper's stellar display gave Morton every chance of earning a memorable resultLine-ups
Rangers
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Butland
- 21SterlingSubstituted forPereira da Silvaat 57'minutes
- 6Goldson
- 27BalogunSubstituted forSimaat 57'minutes
- 46Yfeko
- 15Cifuentes
- 4Lundstram
- 20Dowell
- 17MatondoBooked at 61minsSubstituted forDevineat 81'minutes
- 14LammersSubstituted forHagiat 57'minutes
- 9DessersSubstituted forRoofeat 80'minutes
Substitutes
- 7Hagi
- 11Lawrence
- 19Sima
- 25Roofe
- 28McCrorie
- 38King
- 44Devine
- 64Rice
- 99Pereira da Silva
Morton
Formation 4-5-1
- 30MacDonald
- 8BluesBooked at 32mins
- 15BroadfootBooked at 59mins
- 4O'Connor
- 6Waters
- 9Muirhead
- 21GillespieSubstituted forKingat 69'minutesBooked at 90mins
- 14Crawford
- 20Power
- 17McGrattanSubstituted forBearneat 76'minutes
- 22Oakley
Substitutes
- 1Mullen
- 5Baird
- 19Bearne
- 25King
Referee:David Dickinson
Attendance:38,943
Live Text
Match ends, Rangers 2, Greenock Morton 1.
Second Half ends, Rangers 2, Greenock Morton 1.
Attempt missed. Kirk Broadfoot (Greenock Morton) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Corner, Greenock Morton. Conceded by Connor Goldson.
Attempt missed. Ianis Hagi (Rangers) left footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
Alex King (Greenock Morton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Ianis Hagi (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Alex King (Greenock Morton).
Attempt missed. Kemar Roofe (Rangers) header from the centre of the box is too high.
Ianis Hagi (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Robbie Crawford (Greenock Morton).
Attempt missed. Danilo (Rangers) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right.
Foul by Abdallah Sima (Rangers).
Robbie Crawford (Greenock Morton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. José Cifuentes (Rangers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Corner, Greenock Morton. Conceded by José Cifuentes.
Corner, Greenock Morton. Conceded by Johnly Yfeko.
Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Darragh O'Connor.
Attempt blocked. Abdallah Sima (Rangers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt missed. Kemar Roofe (Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Rating range key1 = Give it up10 = Pure perfection
Rangers
Squad number1Player nameButland
Squad number21Player nameSterling
Squad number6Player nameGoldson
Squad number27Player nameBalogun
Squad number46Player nameYfeko
Squad number15Player nameCifuentes
Squad number4Player nameLundstram
Squad number20Player nameDowell
Squad number17Player nameMatondo
Squad number14Player nameLammers
Squad number9Player nameDessers
Squad number7Player nameHagi
Squad number19Player nameSima
Squad number25Player nameRoofe
Squad number44Player nameDevine
Squad number99Player nameDanilo
Greenock Morton
Squad number30Player nameMacDonald
Squad number8Player nameBlues
Squad number15Player nameBroadfoot
Squad number4Player nameO'Connor
Squad number6Player nameWaters
Squad number9Player nameMuirhead
Squad number21Player nameGillespie
Squad number14Player nameCrawford
Squad number20Player namePower
Squad number17Player nameMcGrattan
Squad number22Player nameOakley
Squad number19Player nameBearne
Squad number25Player nameKing
English (US) ·