Rangers eventually scraped past Hamilton Academical in this Active Nation Scottish Cup fourth-round replay, but required an extra half-hour to do so on an edgy night at Ibrox.
Two Steven Whittaker goals ended the misery of Walter Smith’s side, though Rangers, it must be said, in the end deserved victory.
Goals after 93 and 97 minutes by Whittaker settled it, though Billy Reid, a small but irate Hamilton manager, had quite a grievance over the second of those. James McArthur, it seemed, had clearly been fouled by Danny Wilson in the Rangers half, yet ten seconds later, with play continuing, Whittaker cracked a shot past Tomas Cerny to make it 2-0. Ally McCoist, the Rangers assistant manager, immediately went over to Reid to acknowledge the moment of injustice.
Cerny, an heroic Hamilton goalkeeper, put Rangers through this prolonged agony. On numerous occasions the Czech saved his team with agile blocks, with two outstanding second-half saves from Kenny Miller the most notable.
Ibrox was not impressed. For all their pressure, Rangers lacked a scalpel in the penalty box and Smith’s men only contributed to their own suffering. It proved a long, miserable night for the rather paltry crowd.
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The size of the attendance was a sign of these impoverished times for football. It is not just in Scotland that the national cup competition has taken a hit — the crowds in England for FA Cup ties have been appalling — but 20,000 last night testified to the present mood. On a chilly January night, clearly, the Rangers diehards had other priorities.
The one thing you would say about Reid’s Hamilton is that much of their football is so often pleasing on the eye. Even with the towering Mickael Antoine-Curier in attack, lumping long balls to the Frenchman is always a last resort, and rarely a priority. And, of course, there is the busy McArthur in the centre of midfield.
It is wise by now in Scotland not to make too much of emerging Scottish talent — so often down the line a whole series of players fail to fulfil their talent — but right now this 21-year-old looks quite a gem.
McArthur is sleek and imaginative with the ball, and has a marvellous awareness of players around him. In better times, Rangers would surely have shown an interest in the youngster and still might, though 18 months remain on his contract.
If the midfield player is in his final days at New Douglas Park, Reid and his team-mates are going to miss him.
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This match went as many expected, with Rangers pressing and creating chances, but with Hamilton, on the first-half evidence at least, also having their moments.
Cerny had to makes saves from Sasa Papac, Miller and John Fleck, while at the other end Allan McGregor watched nervously as Marco Paixao’s long shot sailed narrowly wide of a post.
Miller twice struck Cerny’s bar, and Rangers found the visiting team’s resistance tough to break down.
Rangers made heavy weather of this. A Fleck shot was comfortably saved by Cerny, then Lee McCulloch turned and screwed a shot straight into the arms of the Hamilton goalkeeper. But there were few chinks to be found in the visiting defence, and it was not long before that familiar Ibrox spleen was being vented at the home side’s blunt efforts.
With Nacho Novo down one flank and Papac marauding down the other, Rangers hoped to expose their visitors in the wide areas.
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Novo, however, had a beavering marker in Simon Mensing, who was booked for his harassing of the Rangers player, but still stuck to his task formidably.
Amid quite a bit of aggro, Mensing, David Elebert and David Weir were all booked, the last of these for taking severe exception to some robust tackling.
Novo should have thrust his side ahead after 74 minutes but, with Cerny’s goal at his mercy, delayed critically to allow the shot to be blocked. Elebert then headed Danny Wilson’s header off the line as Rangers pressed to no avail.
Miller’s looping shot was touched home by Whittaker from six inches three minutes into extra-time, before the same player sealed his side’s win five minutes later.