KRIS BOYD’S well-taken finish in the 44th minute proved decisive as Rangers booked their place in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup at Dumbarton’s Bet Butler Stadium.
The Light Blues were not at their best in the first half of this tie but Boyd’s tidy finish 60 seconds before the break put the visitors in a strong position and from there they were able to hold on to their lead.
Dumbarton, to their credit, never let their heads go down and although Rangers dominated the second period, and could have added to their slender lead, they had to work very hard for this victory.
Ally McCoist made one change to his side for kick off with Lee Robinson taking Steve Simonsen’s place between the posts.
Simmo took a nasty head knock in Tuesday night’s League Cup quarter final victory over St Johnstone which meant Robinson made his first start for the Light Blues with highly rated 16-year-old Robby McCrorie on the bench as the back-up keeper.
After a positive start to the tie it was the Sons who had the first attempt at goal. The ball was played down the right channel to Lee Mair and his shot across Robinson brought out an excellent stop from the Englishman who dived low to his right.
Dumbarton were clearly fired up and boss Ian Murray would have been delighted with the way his side approached the opening 10 minutes. They were sharp, aggressive in the tackle and asking questions of the Gers backline.
Jamie Ewings at the other end, meanwhile, did not have much to do during the same period albeit the Light Blues enjoyed more of the possession.
With 19 minutes on the clock Robinson again had to follow the ball closely as it whizzed past his post. It was towering striker Colin Nish this time who tried his luck from distance after he had controlled the ball well from a clearance midway inside Rangers’ half.
At the half hour mark Murray would certainly have been the happier of the two managers. Rangers were comfortable in possession but Dumbarton’s defence was organised and worked hard to contain the threat from Boyd and Kenny Miller.
Indeed, on 38 minutes it was Richard Foster who hit Rangers’ first shot of note and it was from 20 yards, and off target.
Three minutes before the break Foster was again given time and space to take a shot, this time with his trusted right boot. He attempted to find the opposite bottom corner of Ewings’ net and Boyd clipped it past the keeper from 10 yards.
The Gers fans were out of their seats but the linesman in front of the Bet Butler Stadium’s only stand was quick to raise his flag for offside against the striker.
Before half time Robinson had to crouch down low to make a save from Mark McLaughlin before Rangers got their noses in front a minute before the break.
Lewis Macleod moved in from the right and he slipped a great pass into Boyd who was lurking between two defenders looking for just a yard of space.
The lethal hitman took one touch before curling an accurate shot past Ewings and into the net via the post.
Murray cut a dejected figure as he walked across the turf and up the tunnel at half time. His team had put in a lot of effort but they switched off for one second and Boyd made them pay with a typically composed finish.
Within four minutes of the restart Boyd created another chance and if he had scored it would have been one of his best.
The ball was played up to the Gers number 15 inside Dumbarton’s half of the centre circle and with a drop of the shoulder he bamboozled two defenders and sprinted through on goal.
Ewings darted off his goal line and when Boyd tried to beat him with a left-foot shot he produced a fine stop with his legs to deny the Gers star.
With a goal in place Rangers were now pushing for a second and when Stevie Smith played in Miller he twisted past his marker in the 18-yard box but another defender appeared to block his net bound effort.
Macleod, who was asked to play on the right wing in Fraser Aird’s absence, was always trying to make things happen and when he again cut inside his shot from 20 yards skimmed the side netting at Ewings’ near post.
As the clock ticked down Robinson did well to get down to make an excellent stop from a header while Ian Black’s rasping shot from 30 yards would have stung Ewings’ hands.
With Jon Daly now on in place of matchwinner Boyd, Rangers kept the pressure on in the latter stages but they were unable to net a second goal as the rain began to pour down on the playing surface.
Daly would have been disappointed to blaze a shot over after he was teed up by Macleod on his left side but McCoist’s men held on to their 1-0 lead and they now progress to round four.
DUMBARTON (3-5-2): Ewings, Mair, McLaughlin, Graham; Gilhaney, Megginson (McDougall 80), Fleming, Agnew Linton (Van Zanten 82); Nish, Campbell (Turner 69)
SUBS NOT USED: Grindlay, McDougall, McCallum, Lightbody, Whitefield
RANGERS (4-4-2): Robinson; Foster, McCulloch, McGregor, Wallace; Macleod, Black, Law, Smith; Boyd (Daly 75), Miller
SUBS NOT USED: McCrorie, Clark, Faure, Mohsni, Templeton, Shiels
GOALS: Boyd 44
BOOKINGS: McGregor, Foster
REF: Bobby Madden