Lawrence Shankland spared Rangers of another frustrating evening as the Gers captain scored twice to inspire Derek McInnes' side to a 2-1 win over Falkirk.
Rangers made the best possible start to proceedings as they mustered their breakthrough after just eight minutes. Djeidi Gassama fizzed a pass into the path of Shankland, and the striker shifted the ball onto his left foot before firing beyond Scott Bain.
Looking to reach the interval with their advantage intact, Rangers were pegged back on the verge of half-time as Falkirk equalised through a Kosta Nedeljkovic own goal. Cammy Devlin had sloppily conceded possession, enabling Ethan Ross to get on the ball and the Falkirk winger skinned Olwethu Makhanya to put a cross in which Nedeljkovic directed past a stricken Ivor Pandur.
The visitors were uninspiring for long spells of the second half at the Falkirk Stadium, but they reclaimed the lead with 11 minutes of normal time remaining through Shankland.
Some neat footwork from Ross McCrorie enabled him to find Shankland in the penalty area and the striker slotted the ball into the far corner to provide McInnes with a precious three points.
Falkirk v Rangers Timeline
8' - Goal for Rangers. Scored by Lawrence Shankland, assisted by Djeidi Gassama.
44' - Goal for Falkirk. Own goal by Kosta Nedeljkovic.
53' - Yellow card for Ethan Ross.
54' - Aodhan Doherty replaced Calvin Fodrey.
59' - Ross McCrorie replaced Kosta Nedeljkovic, Tochi Chukwuani replaced Cammy Devlin.
67' - Yellow card for Brad Spencer.
70' - Ross MacIver replaced Jacob Murrell.
76' - Yellow card for Olwethu Makhanya.
78' - Deniss Melniks replaced Brad Spencer, Ben Parkinson replaced Ethan Ross.
79' - Goal for Rangers. Scored by Lawrence Shankland, assisted by Ross McCrorie.
80' - Bojan Miovski replaced Minsu Kim, Daisuke Yokota replaced Findlay Curtis.
90+3' - Ben Godfrey replaced Lawrence Shankland.
Falkirk v Rangers Match Stats
Falkirk | Rangers | |
48% | Possession | 52% |
0.85 | Expected Goals | 1.57 |
12 | Shots | 16 |
5 | Shots on Target | 6 |
4 | Goalkeeper Saves | 4 |
12 | Fouls Committed | 17 |
5 | Corners | 6 |
389 | Total Passes | 426 |
77% | Pass Accuracy | 79% |
14 | Tackles | 18 |
50% | Tackles Won | 50% |
30 | Clearances | 25 |
2 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
0 | Red Cards | 0 |
