BILLY KIRKWOOD hopes Rangers' Glasgow Cup triumph is the first of many for his Murray Park kids after they beat Old Firm rivals Celtic at Ibrox last night.

In front of an 8000 crowd, it was the Gers who emerged triumphant in the most dramatic of circumstances as they claimed a 4-2 shoot-out win following a closely fought 1-1 draw over the 90 minutes.

The victory sees the Glasgow Cup reside at Ibrox for the third time in four years and Kirkwood hopes that winning feeling will be with his Under 17 stars throughout their Light Blue careers.

The delighted coach said: "It is a good learning curve for them. They have got to taste defeat as well, but it is nice to taste victory.

"It takes them through the grades into the 19s and hopefully into the first team.

"It is a great experience for the kids to play at Ibrox and especially to beat Celtic and lift the trophy in front of the fans.

"It is a great experience for all the kids and hopefully they can put that to good use in their future careers. I know it is their first one but hopefully it is not their last one."

With the front sections of the Copland and Broomloan Road stands, as well as the Ibrox enclosures, packed with vociferous supporters, the youngsters who strode out to the hallowed turf would have required little in the way of a pre-match team talk from their respective managers.

It was Celtic who would start the brightest, with their first attempt on Liam Kelly's goal coming after just four minutes as defender Eoghan O'Connell fired a snap shot wide after the ball broke to him inside the area following a Hoops corner.

Just two minutes later, it was Rangers' turn to come close. Celtic dealt well with a Gers corner, but when midfielder Andy Murdoch lofted a cross to the back post, Stuart Urquhart could only find the side netting with his effort.

It was the closest Rangers were to come in the first half as Celtic took control of the game, with Jack Kirwan seeing his shot from the edge of the area saved by Kelly.

The two best chances were to fall to Denny Johnstone, however.

First, the striker got the better of Urquhart to latch on to a speculative long ball, but he couldn't beat Kelly from 18 yards.

On 25 minutes, a Lewis Kidd effort cracked off the Gers' right hand post, with Johnstone firing over the rebound when unmarked inside the box.

The half-time whistle may have brought a halt to the on-field action, but the atmosphere continued to build, with Hoops fans setting off flares and smoke bombs in the Broomloan.

Just two minutes after the restart, the green and white hordes had something to cheer as Paul McLellan fired past Kelly to give the visitors the lead their first half showing deserved.

It was not to last, however, as Rangers pulled level almost immediately.

Charlie Telfer burst down the right flank, with his centre finding the onrushing Ramsay, who slammed the ball into the Hoops net to leave keeper Jordan Hart helpless.

The match continued to swing from end to end as both sides went in search of a winner.

There was to be no hero inside the 90 minutes, though, with the game going straight to penalties.

As Rangers converted four times from the spot, Kirwan saw his effort saved before Stuart Findlay hit the bar to hand Rangers the silverware and spark wild celebrations among the light blue colts.

Kirwood added: "It was a fantastic save. When we practised them yesterday, I don't think Liam saved one.

"I think he was keeping the confidence up for the other young lads!

"The first save was fantastic so he is rightly over the moon with that."