Rangers 4-1 Falkirk

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Highlights: Rangers 4-1 Falkirk

Jason Cummings hit a hat-trick as Rangers swept Falkirk aside to reach the Scottish Cup semi-final.

The on-loan striker netted the opener before Aaron Muirhead deflected Craig Sibbald's effort home to square it.

Cummings quickly restored Rangers' lead with a clever finish and Muirhead's own goal made it 3-1.

Cummings completed his hat-trick after the break as the hosts made it six wins in a row to secure their passage to the last four.

Rangers face Celtic in the semi-final, with Motherwell meeting the winner of the replay between Aberdeen and Kilmarnock.

Jason Cummings scores openerImage source, SNS
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Jason Cummings curled a fine finish into the top corner to give Rangers a 1-0 lead

The hosts looked in the mood in the early stages at Ibrox, keen to continue their fine recent form.

There was an energy and drive to the home side, and no shortage of quality in the final third.

Within 16 minutes they were ahead when Cummings raced on to a Daniel Candeias pass into the box, composed himself and then calmly lifted a left-footed effort into the far top corner.

The Bairns responded well to that setback and after spending a few minutes in the opposition half, they were back on level terms.

A free-kick into the area eventually fell to Sibbald, whose shot was going well wide before it deflected off Muirhead and bounced into the net.

Aaron Muirhead celebratesImage source, SNS
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Aaron Muirhead savoured his moment but Falkirk were behind again just 28 seconds later

The Championship outfit were, however, behind again just 28 seconds later.

From the kick-off Rangers swept up the park and Andy Halliday picked the ball up on the left and fed it into Cummings, who produced a neat turn and finish to make it 2-1.

The hosts continued to look for more goals and it was 3-1 before the break as Rangers' dominance was reflected in the score-line. Cummings was well-placed to bag his hat-trick but Muirhead robbed him of the moment as he got to the ball first and turned Candeias' dangerous cross into his own net.

It had been a fairly open first half and the second started in similar fashion.

Rangers were always threatening in attack but were unable to completely shut the back door on the Bairns, who looked to push forward at any opportunity.

Midway through the half Cummings had a fierce shot well saved by Robbie Thomson as the striker hunted his hat-trick and Falkirk began to defend deeper.

Jason Cummings scores secondImage source, SNS
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Cummings made it 2-1 with a sharp turn and finish

Cummings' third arrived with 15 minutes to play. Josh Windass broke forward brilliantly and played in Alfredo Morelos whose shot was saved by Thomson but Cummings was there to bury the rebound.

Morelos missed a glaring chance in the closing stages as he was unable to add to the scoring.

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