Mark Warburton pleaded for the protection of his players last night after a bruising win over Livingston.
The Rangers manager was unhappy at some of the challenges made by the West Lothian side, which led to Nathan Oduwa hobbling off at half-time, after he failed to shrug off a hefty challenge from Kieran Gibbons in the opening minute.
Warburton said: “Nathan has got some knocks. His ankle, foot thigh, shin, neck, nose . . . you name it, he’s bruised.
“The first tackle on Nathan came after about 25 seconds, that was followed by four or five swiftly after that and he had to come off at half-time.
“I just think it was frustrating to be polite. Talented players do need some protection. I’m not saying special treatment but [we need to] look after them. Some of the tackles were inappropriate.”
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Rangers needed a late winner from Nicky Clark, who had come on as a half-time substitute, to seal a semi-final place.
But Warburton’s side lacked guile and any real creative spark in a disappointing performance against the Championship’s bottom side.
The Ibrox side will now meet St Mirren in the last four, but the crowd of more than 17,000 were left frustrated at how often Rangers chose the wrong final ball, given their vast dominance of possession last night.
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Yet a fine goal from Clark with 15 minutes left won the contest when many of the home supporters were growing increasingly irritated, particularly with Andrew Dallas, who produced eight yellow cards.
The home side wasted little time in going for the opener with Lee Wallace trickling Martyn Waghorn’s lay-off into the arms of Marc McCallum, the Livingston goalkeeper.
It took a fabulous clearance from Ben Gordon, the Livingston defender, after 15 minutes to keep the scores level. Waghorn released Oduwa on the right and the England Under 21 international floated the perfect cross for James Tavernier — but Gordon somehow stretched to clear.
Barrie McKay was the only Rangers player who had creativity and he darted down the left again, but Andy Halliday‘s shot was easily saved.
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Livingston, who grew in confidence, tested Wes Foderingham for the first time when Liam Buchanan fizzed a low shot at the keeper.
The home side kept pouring forward, but their decision-making was often atrocious.
But Clark finally broke the deadlock. Lee Wallace galloped down the left, checked inside before sweeping the ball into the path of Clark who struck a superbly placed shot low into the corner of the net.