Rangers 1-0 Livingston: It wasn't pretty, but it was effective enough for Mark Warburton's side at Ibrox

Mark Warburton’s side booked their place in the Petrofac Training Cup semi-finals and set up a meeting with St Mirren with a 1-0 win over Livingston, but they certainly had to work hard for it. The length of the Championship standings may separate Rangers and Livi but a Nicky Clark strike 15 minutes from time was all that came between them at Ibrox.

It was far from a classic, but having suffered their only defeat of the campaign in the League Cup and saw those silverware dreams dashed just a few weeks ago, there was no knock-out blow for the Light Blues this time around.

Warburton has stated throughout the rounds that he was in this competition to win it this season and he once again fielded a strong side as the Gers set their sights on a last four berth.

Mark Warburton

There were two changes from the team that beat Queen of the South, Nicky Law and Nathan Oduwa coming in for Dean Shiels, who dropped out of the squad altogether, and Kenny Miller, who took a place on a youthful looking bench.

The evening was almost over as quickly as it began for Oduwa, though. Just seconds into the game, the on loan Spurs starlet was clattered by Kieran Gibbons and had to receive treatment on his ankle. The Livi defender was lucky to escape without even a yellow card for a horror challenge that could easily, and probably should, have seen him head for an early bath.

It wasn’t the last time that Oduwa found himself in the wars and on the end of some tough tackling from the Lions as Mark Burchill’s side put themselves about and defended in numbers. It wasn’t a pretty approach as their foul count ticked over with regularity but it proved effective for long spells.

Nathan Oduwa

Like they had done in the last couple of outings, Rangers were finding it difficult to break down a stubborn defensive line. For all their possession, chances were few and far between.

The best opportunity of the opening exchanges came after 14 minutes and Oduwa was again involved as he picked out James Tavernier six yards from goal. But, with keeper Marc McCallum beaten, the right-back saw his header hooked off the line by Ben Gordon in acrobatic style.

It was the closest Rangers would come to breaking the deadlock in the first half as frustrations grew and the home crowd became increasingly tetchy. There were efforts from Andy Halliday and Nicky Law but McCallum wasn’t exactly under siege in the Livi goal.

His opposite number, Wes Foderingham, had to be alert with just a couple of minutes remaining as he smothered a well struck drive from Liam Buchanan, who was part of the Alloa side that knocked the Light Blues out of this competition at the semi-final stage last term.

After stifling Rangers for long spells, Livingston were happy to try and see the half out and head for the dressing room with the scoreboard untroubled. Referee Andrew Dallas had to get involved before he could blow his whistle to signal the end of the first 45 minutes, though.

Martyn Waghorn

Martyn Waghorn cut a frustrated figure at the head of the Gers attack as his service was limited but he was involved in a flashpoint Gordon, the striker appearing to flick out at the defender as they jostled in the middle of the park.

There was a smattering of boos from the Ibrox crowd as Warburton’s side made their way down the tunnel for a much-needed team talk and then a louder second wave for Dallas and his fellow officials as they made their exit.

Some of the calls from the men in the middle were questionable, but Rangers’ performance wasn’t exactly up to much, either. Too often their passing was slack, their movement not quick or incisive enough as a sluggish showing left the Light Blue legions thoroughly unimpressed.

When the teams re-emerged, Oduwa didn’t join the Gers as he was replaced by Clark. Rangers were immediately on the front foot, Waghorn denied from a tight angle and Halliday’s shot from the edge of the area deflected over before Rob Kiernan should have scored from a McKay cross.

Rangers v Livingston

Livingston’s spoiling tactics continued to work in their favour as Rangers struggled to find their rhythm. There was no flow to the Gers’ play or the game, a series of fouls seeing tempers fray, Warburton and David Weir spoken to by Dallas before Halliday was booked amid a brief scuffle between several players.

With just 15 minutes left, Rangers finally found a route to goal as Livingston’s resistance was broken. From the left flank, Wallace picked out Clark and the striker then picked his spot, a low shot from 25 yards finding the bottom corner of McCallum’s net with a low shot as the home crowd finally had something to cheer.

Nicky Clark

It was to prove the last roar of celebration until they were able to clap Rangers from the field with the game won and their progress secured.

Once again, it was job done for Rangers. That was about all there was to be satisfied about, and in reality all that mattered.