Motherwell 1 - 2 Rangers Wed 31/10/07

Nacho Novo (22)
Kris Boyd (53)

Nacho Novo and Kris Boyd fired Rangers into the CIS Insurance Cup semi-finals after a 2-1 win at Motherwell.

Walter Smith's side will learn the identity of their next opponents in the competition on Thursday, but with Hearts knocking Celtic out at Parkhead the Ibrox side are now firm favourites for the Scottish season's first major silverware.

Both teams missed a string of chances which could have altered the course of the game, but the strikes from Novo and Boyd either side of the break proved enough to send the visitors through and make the case, for both players, that they warrant another run in the side.

Paul Quinn's goal for Mark McGhee's Motherwell sparked a rally in injury time but it was not to be for the home side.

Rangers boss Walter Smith, who is approaching 10 months back in charge of the club he led with distinction in the 1990s, resisted the temptation to shuffle things at the back, and there was no place in the starting line-up for Ugo Ehiogu.

Novo and Boyd started together in attack, having both been substitutes in the weekend defeat at Dundee United, as fellow frontman Daniel Cousin and midfielder Amdy Faye stood down.

Motherwell boss Mark McGhee handed former Celtic midfielder Phil O'Donnell his first start since the away clash with Aberdeen on September 15. Stephen Hughes, who was injured in the 3-0 defeat by Celtic on Saturday, was ruled out and striker Chris Porter dropped to the bench.

The visitors settled quickly and threatened almost immediately when captain Barry Ferguson won a free-kick at the edge of the box as he attempted to burst into the area on a solo run.

Ferguson then stood over the ball but his curling effort cracked against the outside of Graeme Smith's post.

The match was far from one-way traffic though. With Rangers having already been held by Motherwell in the league they knew it would again be a tricky trip.

Motherwell's Keith Lasley had a great chance after 18 minutes when he managed to get on the end of a whipped cross from Jim Paterson, but his glancing header drifted agonisingly wide.

Rangers took the lead after 22 minutes when Ferguson's throw-in was flicked on by Boyd and Novo burst in to shoot past Smith for the opener.

Motherwell responded with a spell of pressure but failed to create much from a succession of corner kicks.

And they were almost caught out at the other end when a high ball over the top was controlled well by goalscorer Novo.

The Spaniard went down after he knocked the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper and it was an obvious penalty but referee Brines waved play on and the ball was cleared to safety.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first with plenty of incident and it was not long before there was another Rangers goal.

DaMarcus Beasley looked livelier than he had before the break and it was the American midfielder who pounced on a slack pass as he broke forward to create the visiting side's second strike.

Motherwell's defence thought they had dealt with the danger but when the ball broke to Novo, his slide-rule pass allowed Boyd to slot under Smith after 52 minutes.

Boyd was again celebrating minutes later when he put the ball in the net again from close range but the linesman had raised his flag for what appeared to be offside.

Almost 10 minutes later and Boyd's perfect back-post cross looked ideal for Beasley to side-foot home a third goal, but he mis-timed the effort and the ball landed harmlessly wide.

The home side were having to settle for half chances at this point as the Glasgow giants looked by far the most dangerous side.

Boyd missed a gilt-edged opportunity to put the tie beyond doubt when he placed a side-footed shot wide of the target when it was easier to score.

McGhee's men finally put Allan McGregor's goal under some pressure when the goalkeeper was forced to block a volley from Steven McGarry.

Smith introduced Cousin for Boyd after 82 minutes but his side began to come under pressure from Well, who were reluctant to give up.

Rangers suffered a late scare in added-on time when McGregor dropped a cross into the box and in the scramble Quinn managed to bundle the ball over the line.

They had another late corner but Motherwell's cup run was soon over.

Walter Smith's side will now find out who they will meet in the next round in tomorrow's fifth round draw at the Scottish Parliament.

RANGERS: McGregor, Hutton, Cuellar, Weir, Papac, Ferguson, Thomson, Novo, McCulloch, Beasley, Boyd (Cousin 82),

Subs Not Used: Carroll, Ehiogu, Faye, Whittaker,

Ref: I Brines

Man-of-the-match: Thomson

Attendance: 9,283