The victory marked the Light Blues’ ninth successive victory in domestic cup competition, which began just over 12 months ago with a 4-0 success over Stirling Albion at Ibrox.
Here are the numbers crunched as Rangers continued their unbeaten start to life under Michael Beale.
The effort from Barisic on the stroke of half-time was the Croatian’s first ever goal from open play as a Rangers player, with his most recent strike coming in the 5-2 victory over Royal Antwerp at Ibrox in the Europa League knockout stages nearly two years ago.
In rifling Rangers ahead, it further increased the impressive spread of goals across the Rangers team under Michael Beale. Indeed, there have been 11 different goalscorers in the Englishman’s first nine games in the dugout.
The influence of the attacking trio of Fashion Jr., Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos has also been pronounced. Out of the 20 goals that the Gers have netted since Beale’s first outing as manager against Hibernian, 15 of which have directly involved either of the attacking trio.
Morelos tops the scoring charts under Beale with four goals to his name, with Fashion Jr. having netted on three separate occasions and Kent close by on two goals.
The Zambian was crucial in the lead-up to Barisic’s winning strike in Perth, underlining his ability to create constant danger by drawing a fine stop from Remi Matthews before the Croatian lashed home the rebound. The forward has notched three assists in the league alongside his impressive goal return, while he also drew the foul from Aberdeen captain Anthony Stewart that prompted a straight red card in the Viaplay Cup semi-final at Hampden Stadium. In addition, no player in the Rangers squad has taken more shots or attempted more dribbles in the Scottish Premiership than the Zambian this term.
Similarly, Kent is a player who has been an ever-present since Beale took the reins for the first time in December. The 26-year-old has contributed to three goals in his last seven appearances in the league as the Light Blues prepare to return to Scottish Premiership action with a visit from St. Johnstone on Saturday afternoon.
The attacking options at Beale’s disposal will also increase with the return to fitness from Antonio Colak and Kemar Roofe – the latter of whom highlighted his importance by netting the winning goal against Aberdeen at the national stadium earlier this month. The Croatian was responsible for 35% of Rangers’ goals across all competitions in the first portion of the season, while the latter ended as the club’s top goalscorer in the title-winning season in 2020/21.
There have also been meaningful contributions from midfield, with Malik Tillman once again underscoring his attacking creativity by playing an integral role in Barisic’s goal on Saturday evening. The USA international has registered two goals and two assists under Beale’s stewardship, and the manager has been keen to highlight the subtlety of his contributions as highlighted both in Perth over the weekend and for Scott Arfield’s winning goal against Aberdeen at Pittodrie last month.
Rangers were able to hold the hosts at arm’s length after taking the lead at McDiarmid Park, which sealed a third clean sheet in their last four away outings under Beale. Indeed, the Gers have kept three clean sheets inside the period of a month for the first time this season.
The Light Blues will hope lightning strikes for a third time, with the Gers having defeated St. Johnstone en route to two out of their last three Scottish Cup triumphs as they get set to welcome Partick Thistle to Ibrox in the next round of the competition.