Rangers stormed into the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup with an emphatic 3-0 win over rivals Celtic at Ibrox.
In the first Old Firm derby of the season, Rangers were deserved victors in manager Derek McInnes’ first taste of this fixture from the dugout. Captain Dan Neil netted a brace, while Kevin Kelsy was also on the scoresheet.
Rangers started brightly and had two early chances. Kelsey drilled wide from a promising position after a poor clearance from Celtic goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, who was preferred to Viljami Sinisalo, and Liam Scales did well to clear off his own goalline after Johnstone’s weak punch had landed at the feet of Kim Minsu.
The breakthrough came on 22 minutes when Ryan Naderi and Kelsy linked up and the latter laid the ball back to Neil, who stroked an accurate finish past Johnstone and into the bottom corner.
Celtic struggled to create anything of note in an underwhelming first-half performance, their best moment coming when Camilo Duran placed a shot wide from the left-side of the penalty box.
Celtic did not improve in the second half and Rangers doubled their advantage on the hour-mark when Kelsy drilled home emphatically after a cross dropped into his path.
The hosts were buoyant and Nicolas Raskin had a headed third goal chalked off two minutes later for offside.
The coup de grace came on 75 minutes when the impressive Neil sent an unstoppable effort high beyond Johnstone as the Rangers fans inside Ibrox celebrated a milestone result.
13. Callum McGregor
So often the conductor of this fixture, he was unceremoniously stripped of that title here. Not helped by those around him and he was powerless to stop Rangers ruling the roost. 4
14. Mika Baur
The game completely passed the German by as he was swamped by his Rangers counterparts. 4 | SNS Group
15. Benjamin Nygren
Powderpuff and error-prone in midfield. Was booked early on and set the tone for a wasteful afternoon for the Swede, who was replaced when 2-0 down. 3 | SNS Group
16. Kim Minsu
Stationed wide right, the South Korean had a first-half effort cleared off the line by Scales and then stung Johnstone's palms after the break. Continues to impress for Rangers. Came off for Bouanani. 8 | SNS Group