Falkirk 0-4 Rangers: Steven Gerrard's side into Scottish League Cup last eight
- Published
Calvin Bassey celebrates his first Rangers goal after starting at centre-half alongside Connor Goldson
Rangers will face St Mirren in the last eight of the Scottish League Cup after a 4-0 win at League 1 Falkirk.
Steven Gerrard's side are favourites to win the tournament after Celtic's shock exit and Jermain Defoe got them off to the perfect start inside six minutes.
Calvin Bassey's first goal for the club doubled the lead, before Borna Barisic's free-kick ended the contest before the interval.
James Tavernier volleyed in a fourth after the break to confirm the win.
Rangers are now unbeaten in their past 21 matches, as Gerrard seeks his first trophy as manager.
Gerrard spoke before the match about wanting to see a "relentless" Rangers and he certainly got that.
They signalled their intentions from the outset, with Tavernier - one of four retained from Thursday's Europa League draw with Benfica - clipping the bar with a cross inside the first minute.
It did not take Rangers long to find the back of the net, though. Five minutes later, a searching diagonal pass from Connor Goldson caught out Mark Durnan, and Defoe guided the ball into the far corner.
The veteran forward nearly doubled his tally shortly after, when Bassey's cross was headed out to him on the edge of the penalty area, but his volley flashed wide.
It was two on the half-hour. Tavernier burst into the box and forced a good save out of PJ Morrison but, from the resulting corner, the goalkeeper could not hold Cedric Itten's header and Bassey slammed in.
Falkirk did call Jon McLaughlin into action before the end of the half, with the goalkeeper saving well from Durnan's header, but the game was over by half-time as Barisic's stunning free-kick beat Morrison.
The hosts threatened to pull one back at the start of the second half, but a devastating piece of play ensured Rangers maintained control.
Quick link-up play on the edge of the box culminated with the ball arriving at the feet of Barisic on the left. He saw Tavernier motoring forward and picked out his fellow full-back, with the Rangers captain superbly finishing at the back post.
The game petered out following that goal, and although Defoe and Itten both had chances to add a fifth, it finished 4-0 to Rangers.
What they said
Falkirk co-manager David McCracken: "There were a lot of positives to take from the game, we'll learn from tonight - not just the players, but us as managers and the backroom staff too."
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard: "We focus on what happens in the Rangers camp. The challenge and the aim is to go all the way - it doesn't matter who's in the competition and who's been knocked out. It's about Rangers trying to compete for silverware, year in, year out."
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