The celebration that greeted Rangers' opener told its own story.

Gleefully they slid across the turf, bodies piled on top of one another as Lee McCulloch took the plaudits.

In another time, a goal in a routine League Cup outing at home to Motherwell would have been celebrated with little more than a cursory couple of handshakes. Last night, it almost took off the roof.

The goading of the visiting support, the frustrations of the hosts and the bite and energy in the stands meant that this one was always going to be elevated to a 'them' and 'us'.

And how Rangers revelled in drawing blood in a 2-0 victory as they got their first crack at going head-to-head with an SPL side since their reformation under Charles Green.

It took until just after the break before Rangers released some of their pent-up energy with Lee McCulloch's goal, but by the time Dean Shiels doubled that advantage shortly afterwards there was something of an old swagger about them.

Both managers had claimed the other were favourites going into this one, but in truth, Motherwell should have been expected to fare better than they did last night.

Gers' central defensive pairing of Ross Perry and Emilson Cribari has looked ill at ease against teams in the Third Division. Yet Michael Higdon couldn't quite turn the screw on them last night.

Chris Humphrey enjoyed a decent duel with Lee Wallace and his pace troubled the left-back at times, but there was no real end product for Motherwell.

The Fir Park side have a perennial inferiority complex at Ibrox; they have not won in Govan since an Owen Coyle double in 1997. They will rarely have had a better time to correct that than they did last night.

For Rangers, though, the result was massively significant.

It is not just about giving one in the eye to a team in the SPL – important enough for the club's supporters – but it also sustains their season to some extent.

The glamour of Europe will already be looked upon with misty-eyed reverence by Rangers who cannot contemplate rubbing shoulders with the big guns for near-on three years, but making serious inroads into this season's League Cup could provide them with some form of excitement away from the flatness of the Third Division.

It also raises the possibility of a potential Old Firm meeting this season given that both teams have had a relatively straightforward journey into the quarter-finals.

Judging by the manner in which Rangers were able to raise the bar for the meeting against Motherwell, the possibility of getting their hands on the first trophy on offer this season will be regarded as a justified ambition by Ally McCoist.

The game against Motherwell was always going to be viewed as something of a benchmark for how this young Rangers side are progressing given the staccato nature of their life in the lower leagues.

And there were just under 30,000 inside Ibrox last night who roared their approval when, with just 20 seconds on the clock, Shiels went steaming into Motherwell defender Fraser Kerr just outside the box, winning possession and slipping the ball to young winger Fraser Aird.

His ball into the box was missed by Francisco Sandaza and a glorious chance to unnerve Motherwell was lost.

Luck has not been with the Spanish striker so far in his Rangers career and last night was no exception. His evening ended prematurely when a nasty head collision with Shaun Hutchinson forced him off, while the Fir Park player was able to return to the fray after being stitched up.

While McCall was keen to point to the superior budget enjoyed by McCoist in the build-up to the game, it is with the early loss of a player during a game that the Ibrox manager's hand in really shown.

There is a barely concealed paucity about the Rangers bench that was shown up last night with Ian Black injured and Sandaza off and it is the lack of numbers as well as experience that will trouble McCoist as the season continues.

There are not too many options for the Rangers manager, especially on nights when they are really up against it. As such it is vital that the likes of Aird, Lewis Macleod – who put in another decent shift in the middle of the park – Barrie McKay and Robbie Crawford continue to develop.

Last night was the first test that Rangers have passed this season, and they knew it.

The players milked the acclaim, relished the applause and left the pitch with fists pumping all round.

There are more tests to come, though, and the same spirit needs to accompany them on the way.