Rangers 1-2 Raith Rovers
- Published
Raith Rovers into Scottish Cup quarter-finals
Rovers' first win over Rangers at Ibrox since 1959
Rangers lost five of the last nine
Watched by crowd of only 11,422
Raith Rovers beat Rangers at Ibrox for the first time since November 1959 to reach the Scottish Cup quarter-finals and add to the Glasgow side's woes.
Ryan Conroy curled in an excellent second-half free-kick to give Grant Murray's men the lead.
It was short-lived with on-loan Haris Vuckic levelling on his Rangers debut.
Rovers still looked the more likely to find a winner and Christian Nade took advantage of a defensive mix-up to fire home the decisive goal.
It was a blunt performance from Rangers, and this exit follows semi-final defeats in the League Cup to Celtic and to Alloa in the Petrofac Training Cup.
For Rovers boss Murray, who had seen his team lose 4-0 and 6-1 to Rangers in the Championship this season, it was a second cup success over the Ibrox outfit after the Challenge Cup final win last season.
Rangers have now lost five of their last nine matches in all competitions, while falling 19 points behind Hearts in the Scottish Championship during a troubled period on and off the pitch.
On-loan Newcastle men Vuckic and Remie Streete - two of the five players who joined Rangers from St James' Park during the week - started in Kenny McDowall's side, who are four places above Rovers in the league table.
It was an eerie atmosphere at Ibrox, save for a small band of fans chanting their displeasure at the board in the sparse 11,422 crowd.
After an uneventful start, Nade provided a nervy moment when he directed a Grant Anderson cross the wrong side of the post.
At the other end, Ricky Foster twice delivered a good cross from the right onto the head of Jon Daly, the second of which produced a fine save from David McGurn.
Again, though, Rovers threatened and only the slightest touch from Foster managed to nudge Paul Watson's header onto the post and into the grateful hands of Steve Simonsen.
Dale Carrick could have given the visitors a half-time lead had he not rushed a shot at goal after Black lost possession in midfield.
Rovers had fired enough warnings and they broke the deadlock when Conroy's free-kick gave them the lead.
It sparked a reaction and when Kyle Hutton picked out Vuckic on the left hand side, he was able to pick his spot in the far corner.
However, the hosts could not get a grip of the game as Rovers continued to fancy their chances, and they fell behind for a second time.
Simonsen and Foster got themselves into a mess trying to clear Jason Thomson's low ball and the ball squirmed its way to Nade who thumped the loose ball into the empty net.
Anderson went close to a third with Simonsen having to block his shot, but substitute Kris Boyd should have forced a replay when he sent a free header wide in front of goal.
It told the story of the game that even with five minutes added on it was the visitors who created the better chances as they comfortably secured a last eight spot.
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