RANGERS progressed to the fourth round of the Scottish Cup after hammering Peterhead 5-0 at Ibrox this afternoon.
Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Ross McCormack were also on the scoresheet in a match Rangers dominated from start to finish.
In his pre-match press conference, the manager stressed how important it was for his team to perform well in the Scottish Cup this season and he would have been delighted by the determination his side showed throughout the 90 minutes.
He made three changes from the team that faced Dundee United on Hogmanay with Boyd, Kyrgiakos and Malcolm replacing Ricksen, Lowing and Buffel.
All three looked desperate to impress and Boyd almost got off to the best possible start inside the first minute.
Chris Burke danced by two defenders on the right wing before passing to his new teammate but his right-foot shot from 20 yards went inches wide.
The Second Division side looked nervous and shaky in the early stages and within the opening five minutes Peter Lovenkrands had two attempts that missed the target and Novo also tested keeper Paul Mathers with a stinging shot.
Before the match Iain Stewart had touted Bobby Linn as a player that could be a threat to Gers’ rearguard and he almost capitalised on some poor marking on 7 minutes.
Craig Tully played a long pass to the striker and he was close to finding the net with a delightful left-foot lob that beat Waterreus before going inches past the post.
This early scare sparked Rangers into life and three minutes later they produced an excellent move when Lovenkrands played a neat one-two with Barry Ferguson inside the 18-yard box but the in-form Dane could only hit the legs of Mathers with his close-range effort.
As expected, the home side continued to dominate possession but the Ibrox faithful were starting to get slightly anxious at their team’s inability to break the deadlock despite the chances coming thick and fast.
On 25 minutes, Novo played a cute backheel to Lovenkrands but his low shot flew across goal and narrowly missed the outstretched foot of Boyd who was looking sharp and confident on his debut.
The Gers’ no.15 was again unlucky three minutes later when Malcolm sent a high dipping free-kick into the Peterhead box and the former Killie star’s header bounced up off the turf before being tipped over the bar by Mathers.
It was somewhat miraculous that Rangers had not managed find the net by this stage but the opener finally arrived on 31 minutes from an unlikely source.
Burke fired a deep corner-kick to Nacho Novo and his volley hit a Peterhead defender three yards from the goalline. The ball dropped to Boyd who smacked the post before Kyrgiakos showed his poaching abilities to score from close range.
It might not have been the prettiest of goals but Alex McLeish must have been relived to see his side being rewarded for all their good attacking play in the opening first-half.
A second goal, however, was not to come prior to the interval which meant that the Blue Toon were still in with a fighting chance.
Their slim hopes were to vanish quickly when Rangers were awarded a penalty on 48 minutes after Tully had brought down Lovenkrands in the box. Boyd snatched the ball from his strike partner before showing great composure to send Mathers the wrong way from the spot.
Things were to get even better for the 22-year-old when he then scored his second and his side’s third on 56 minutes.
Novo, operating on the right wing, darted past a defender before firing for Boyd who showed his predatory skills to score from four yards.
The 80’s hit single ‘New Sensation’ by INXS boomed out of the Ibrox sound system when the ball hit the net and the choice of song looked justified for the player as he went on to grab his hat-trick with 20 minutes for of the game remaining.
Alan Lowing, who replaced Ian Murray after 56 minutes, played in a delightful cross and Boyd rose above his marker to power a header past Mathers.
It was terrific display of finishing from a striker who idolised none other than Ally McCoist in his early years.
The scoring did not finish there and it was great to see Ross McCormack get on the scoresheet again.
The spikey-haired hitman tried his luck with a long-range shot on 74 minutes which took a cruel deflection off Peterhead midfielder Jamie Buchan before finding the back of the net.
It was Boyd, however, that was given the man of the match award at full-time and fans will be looking forward to seeing him add to the 20 goals he has already scored in all competitions in fortcoming matches.
RANGERS: Waterreus, Andrews, Ferguson, Novo, Malcolm (Rae 71), Kyrgiakos, Boyd, Burke, Murray (Lowing 56), Lovenkrands (McCormack 66), Smith
Subs Not Used: Klos, Buffel
Bookings: None
PETERHEAD: Mathers, Hegarty, Cameron, Tully, Perry, Gibson, Sharp, Buchan, Linn (Youngson 76), Wood, Hagen
Subs Not Used: McCafferty Michie, Robertson, Shand
Bookings: Tully (48)
Referee: Brian Winter
Attendance: 39, 870