Vaclav Cerny's first Rangers goal earned his new side a vital victory
Vaclav Cerny's fine finish earned Rangers their first Scottish Premiership win of the season as depleted Motherwell were edged out at Hampden.
The on-loan Wolfsburg winger curled in a delightful effort on his maiden start, securing a much-needed victory following back-to-back draws with Hearts and Dynamo Kyiv, in Champions League qualifying.
Cyriel Dessers' second goal in as many games had given Philippe Clement's men an early advantage at the national stadium, Rangers' temporary home as delayed construction work continues at Ibrox.
Parity was restored when debutant Robin Propper poked into his own net, but Cerny's first Rangers goal restored a deserved lead before half-time.
Clement's side should have killed the game after the break but their performance level regressed against a Motherwell team who travelled to Hampden without seven players.
Visiting manager Stuart Kettlewell watched new striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos limp off in the first half, but his players fought on in the second period and passed up chances to snatch a draw.
Clement watches electric start fade at Hampden
Rangers made real hard work of it in the end after setting the tone in the first half with an electric start.
The impressive Cerny slipped Scott Wright in with a stunning reverse ball, only for the finish to be cleared off the line by Paul McGinn before Aston Oxborough made a superb stop to thwart Dessers on the rebound.
The Nigeria striker showed the best and worst of himself by poking in the opener after Mohamed Diomande nodded Ridvan Yilmaz’s ball across goal.
In the second half he should have worked the keeper or teed up Ross McCausland but instead fired over.
Cerny, who was removed after 54 minutes, is still working his way to full fitness but has demonstrated potential to rectify a long-term issue on the right of the Ibrox side's attack, which was highlighted when he dipped in off the right to curl in a stunner.
The Czech winger was joined in making his first start for the club with centre-back Propper, who had a comfortable debut alongside John Souttar despite scoring a first-half own goal and picking up a yellow card.
The start of a nervous finale for the 50,000 Rangers fans at Hampden coincided with Propper's 74th-minute substitution, with his replacement Leon Balogun looking uneasy in the closing stages.
That conclusion to the game will be a concern for Clement, but at least he will be able to analyse it in the knowledge his team have a first win under their belt after a problematic pre-season.
Injury concerns mount for spirited Well
The big positive for Kettlewell will be his team's spirited second-half showing. The obvious negative is the injury to summer signing Stamatelopoulos.
The Australia international, making his first start since April, had a limited pre-season but impressed with his link-up play early in the game, playing a role in a golden first-half chance for Lennon Miller.
If the striker is to face any time on the sidelines, he will join an injury list that is getting out of hand.
His replacement, Zach Robinson, also caused problems for the Rangers defence, firstly slicing over from inside the area before forcing Jack Butland to make a fine stop low to his left in the second half.
The Motherwell forward line were guilty of passing up opportunities in last weekend's draw with Ross County, and the League Cup group game against Partick Thistle.
That is an issue Kettlewell will be desperate to address immediately, given his side have now failed to score in their past three games.
What they said
'Our finishing could have been better' - Clement
Rangers manager Philippe Clement: "The intensity we started with was really good. We score the first goal then out of nothing a goal against that's really unlucky.
"It's important that the team continues in that way and doesn't start to doubt. The team did that, there was no doubt and we scored a very good second goal."
Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell: "We're a little bit disappointed not to [get a result]. I thought Rangers were excellent first half, they were slick in their general play.
"We were a little bit timid in the first half and we rectified that. The lads did really well, particularly in the second half."
'Never seen an injury situation like it' - Kettlewell
