RANGERS progressed to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup with a 3-0 victory over Annan Athletic this evening.
Fil Helander opened the scoring early in the match before goals from Kemar Roofe and Fashion Sakala helped Rangers into the next round of the competition.
It was a professional display from the Light Blues as they saw off the League Two side at a sold-out Galabank.
From the team which beat Hibs in midweek, van Bronckhorst made eleven changes with Aaron Ramsey and Mateusz Zukowski both coming in for their first starts for the club.
Fil Helander also came into the starting XI at Galabank having been out since September through injury.
Helander was paired at the back with James Sands, with Borna Barisic and Zukowski in their respective full-back positions.
Steven Davis, who captained Gers this evening, was joined in midfield by Amad Diallo and Aaron Ramsey, while Scott Wright and Fashion Sakala supported Kemar Roofe up front.
It was a fantastic Scottish Cup atmosphere despite the rainy weather conditions in Dumfriesshire and Rangers started strong as they looked to take a lead in this cup tie.
The Light Blues had their first chance of the match in the 6th minute as Steven Davis floated a lovely ball in search of Fashion Sakala. The striker managed to get a touch on the ball, but it was cleared by Annan and went out for a corner.
From the resulting corner, which was whipped into the box by Aaron Ramsey, Fil Helander rose well to direct a header towards goal but it was cleared off the line and out for another corner as Rangers piled the pressure on their League Two hosts.
In almost identical fashion, Ramsey delivered another corner into the box and Helander made a strong connection to head across goal and beyond Greg Fleming to give Rangers the lead.
In the ninth minute, Gers were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position on the edge of the box. Borna Barisic curled a left-footed effort towards goal but Fleming managed to get a touch to push wide.
Aaron Ramsey came close to adding a second just after the opening 15 minutes as he turned well in the box to get a shot away but it was just wide of the post, before Kemar Roofe also saw an effort drift just to the left of the target.
However, the pressure paid off for Rangers as they added a second shortly after. Scott Wright picked out Kemar Roofe on the edge of the box and the striker took a touch before placing a low right-footed shot into the bottom corner.
Gers could’ve made it three almost instantly after the restart as Mateusz Zukowski delivered a ball in from the right across the face of goal with Fashion Sakala getting a touch but the ball bounced back off the bar to deny the Zambian a goal.
In a rare attack for the hosts in the opening 25 minutes of the game, Tony Wallace broke and drove towards the Rangers goal but his shot was held comfortably by Jon McLaughlin.
Fashion Sakala did get on the scoresheet in the 32nd minute with a fantastic strike. He was played in by a lovely pass from Amad Diallo and drove down the left before hitting a powerful left-footed shot across goal which tucked in the top corner.
January signing Aaron Ramsey thought he had his first Gers goal before the break as he tapped home a Steven Davis cross but the linesman raised his flag for offside.
There were no changes for either side at half-time, and Rangers started in a similar manner to the first as they looked to add to their tally as Steven Davis shot wide early in the second half.
Annan came close as Tony Wallace won the ball back in midfield before firing a shot across goal that was wide of the post.
Giovanni van Bronkhorst made a triple change on the hour mark as he introduced Jack Simpson, Leon King and Alex Lowry in place of Fil Helander, Aaron Ramsey and Steven Davis.
Rangers were continuing to search for that fourth goal, and Amad Diallo came close as he skimmed the crossbar with a shot from the edge of the box.
In a further two changes for the Gers, Charlie McCann was introduced for his senior debut alongside Cedric Itten, with Fashion Sakala and Amad Diallo coming off.
Kemar Roofe sent a free-kick just over the bar, before Alex Lowry delivered a corner into a dangerous area but Annan managed to scramble the ball clear.
Charlie McCann was denied a debut goal in the final 10 minutes as he drove to the edge of the box before creating space and drilling a powerful shot towards the target but it was held by Fleming.
RANGERS: McLaughlin, Helander (Simpson, 60), Barisic, Diallo (McCann, 70), Davis (Lowry, 60) Ramsay (King, 60), Sands, Zukowski, Wright, Roofe, Sakala (Itten, 70).
Subs not used: McCrorie, Tavernier, Bassey, Kamara.
Annan Athletic: G. Fleming, Barnes, Lowdon (K. Fleming, 74), Moxon, Douglas, Clark, Wallace (Hunter, 74), Docherty (Swinglehurst, 74), Smith, Anderson (Garrity, 64), Johnston (Goss, 82).
Subs not used: Adamson, McCartney, Steele, Murphy, McMenamin, Connolly.
Referee: Alan Muir
Attendace: 2,500
A subscription to RangersTV starts from just £6 per month, and provides not only exclusive access to the club’s teams, but also original feature videos and documentaries, our incredibly popular Inside Ibrox and Away Days shows and our extensive archive of match action from through the years.
Now Showing on RangersTV
MyGers members will also be awarded 25 points for purchasing an annual standard subscription, and 40 for an annual unlimited subscription.
Every MyGers membership contributes to the success of the first team as MyGers membership revenue goes directly towards the first team investment.