Rangers 1 Motherwell 3: Gers flop as Steelmen show mettle in play-off first leg

Two goals up by half-time in this play-off final first leg courtesy of Lee Erwin and Stephen McManus, the Govan crowd were stunned immediately after the break as Lionel Ainsworth made it three.

A late Darren McGregor header with less than 10 minutes to go offered Rangers a lifeline that for much of the second half never looked like coming.

Just Motherwell's second away win this calendar year, the team who stuttered their way to an 11th-placed finish in the Scottish top flight turned in what was arguably their most professional and composed performance of a long, long season.

The result leaves Stuart McCall with the unenviable task of engineering an escape route for his men, almost seven months after resigning from his post at the Motherwell.

The man who spoke of dreading coming up against his old team was right to. While most felt it was for sentimental reasons, a ruthlessness in front of goal hinted at a more serious reason for his angst.

While McCall made just one change in dropping captain Lee McCulloch for Nicky Clark, Motherwell brought back their main first team who largely sat out last weekend's 0-0 draw against Partick Thistle, with Ian Baraclough deploying Marvin Johnson and Lionel Ainsworth on the flanks with Scott McDonald and Erwin in attack.

For the opening 25 minutes it was difficult to tell as the visitors were penned back in their own half as they struggled to get out.

Lee Wallace gave the 950 travelling support a scare as his flashing cross was flapped at by George Long in goal only to whistle by unclaimed, while Kenny Miller dodged challenges from Stephen Pearson and Keith Lasley to curl a wicked 25-yard shot just wide of the far post moments later. Nicky Law also stung the hands of the Motherwell goalkeeper when he should have done better.

Rangers continued to press as Motherwell sat back with just Erwin on his own in the opposing half, but there was method in their madness as the Premiership silenced Ibrox on 27 minutes.

A through ball was fed forward to the 21-year-old striker out on the right, who was give far too much room by Marius Zaliukas to gather the ball and turn. Erwin ran at the centre-half with pace only to beat him with a neat step over, fire a left-footed shot at goal from just inside the box which clattered off McGregor's outstretched leg and into the net at the near post.

One stramash on 35 minutes aside where Nicky Clark saw his effort blocked, it was Motherwell who took hold of the tie in a real attempt to throttle the life out of Rangers.

Five minutes before the break their grip tightened with a second goal.

A cheap free-kick conceded 30 yards from goal on the shy line was simply whipped in by Johnson on to the head of in-rushing Stephen McManus to glance it into the far corner beyond Cammy Bell.

A chorus of boos rang round a packed Ibrox as both teams departed the pitch for half-time. Little did the disgruntled natives realise that within a matter of seconds of them reappearing that matters would took a serious turn for the worse.

Just a minute after the restart a gung-ho Rangers attack broke down deep into Motherwell territory allowing the hosts to spring a counter attack.

Pearson drove hastily forward with the ball into the opposing half as he eventually passed to Erwin. The strike cut his run before playing a cute ball into a rampaging Ainsworth to steady himself and drill a killer blow under Bell.

The goal was met with stunned silence around the ground and panic in the dugout as Tom Walsh and Kris Boyd were thrown on to change Rangers' fortunes.

While the former did inject a bit more vim to proceedings, it was Motherwell who should have scored again on 66 minutes.

Again on a quick breakaway, Johnson's lung-bursting run ended with driven cutback into the box which sat up on a plate for Ainsworth who blazed over from 10 yards.

Shane Ferguson finally got his first taste of Ibrox after being brought on by McCall with 22 minutes to play as the home sight readied the kitchen sink.

It took Rangers until the 73rd minute before they brought a save out of Long in the Motherwell goal as he did brilliantly to claw away a thundering Kris Boyd header.

McCall's men continued to pile forward and they got the goal their pressure deserved in the 82nd minute as McGregor was allowed to leap high and nod a corner kick high into the net.

Rangers would have the ball in the 90th minute through Kris Boyd, but he was flagged for offside before he had a chance to slam his shot under Long.

Haris Vuckic went agonisingly close seconds later with a driving run and shot that whistled just wide, while McManus almost turned a driven low cross into his own net deep into stoppage time.

Like the entire night for Rangers, it was an opportunity missed. For Motherwell, it was their first win at Ibrox since May 5, 1997, and it appears to have arrived in the nick of time.