Rangers earned their place in the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals with the returning Nico Raskin and Bojan Miovski scoring to see off Hibernian.

A first win in six was essential for head coach Russell Martin and his side with fan fury at boiling point coming into this tie.

Home supporters protested before and during the early stages in a far from full Ibrox, seeking the removal of their head coach and chief executive Patrick Stewart, with chairman Andrew Cavanagh casting his eye over events after jetting in from across the Atlantic.

Martin's side started brightly enough without creating glaring chances but the visitors looked more incisive. The first warning came as Martin Boyle fired narrowly over after Kieron Bowie got in behind.

Boyle then looked to have piled more misery on Rangers when he raced clear and the ball trickled just inside the post. As home fans vented their anger the goal was ruled out for handball by the video assistant referee (VAR).

The home side needed something big. They got it when Raskin, who had been left out the squad since before the international break, raced toward the front post and his header from James Tavernier's corner hit the net.

After being omitted from Rangers' last two squads, it was the perfect response and a fine finish.

Raskin was central again moments later when he released Mikey Moore and Miovski was on hand to fire his first goal for the club.

A perfectly timed two goal cushion entirely changed the vibe inside the stadium and from there, the outcome rarely looked in doubt.

After the break, Djeidi Gassama cut in from the left in typical fashion and clipped the cross bar. Hibernian momentarily fell into something of disarray with Grant Hanley's last-ditch clearance on the line denying Miovski a second. Moore then fired narrowly wide before substitute Youssef Chermiti failed to convert when played in.

Rangers did more than enough to earn a crucial win that Martin will hope provides a springboard to a vast improvement in their fortunes.

Fan protests, empty seats and visible and vocal calls for Martin and Stewart to depart hardly offered Rangers encouragement heading into this crucial cup quarter-final.

They got a huge break when Boyle's strike was ruled out as the home crowd were clearly ready to turn up the heat once again.

Who knows what might have transpired had that counted but credit to them for coming through this given the context of increasing fury and negativity.

Rangers desperately needed a massive moment and got it from, who other, than the returning Raskin. It was a Rangers-clad script writer's dream at a vital time. When he was named player of the match, supporters howled in approval. He made a big difference.

A cup semi-final is banked, but the release of some pressure is perhaps just as important. The longer impact of that remains to be seen given the ferocity of calls for change from supporters.

David Gray's side will rue not taking a couple of glaring chances. They showed again, at times, they carry genuine threat but the defending at the set-piece for Rangers' opener was questionable.

They never fully recovered from the double goal blow just before half-time and will now focus on Premiership form to build on an encouraging start to their campaign.

This is likely to feel like a real missed opportunity for the Edinburgh side.

Cup semi-finals don't come around too often for clubs outside the traditional big two and they came into this sensing a real opportunity.

Rangers host Belgian side Genk in their opening Europa League fixture on Thursday 25th Sep (20:00 BST).

Hibernian catch up on a Premiership match after their European exploits this coming Tuesday when they travel to Falkirk (19:45) with the chance to strengthen their third place position.

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