Rangers booked a place in the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals with a sleepy victory over Championship side Dundee.
Steven Davis ' early goal should've set the tone for a comfortable evening but Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side lacked intensity and creativity in the final third again on a largely dull evening at Ibrox. With the Dark Blues camped on the edge of their own box, it made for a turgid affair that neither team will look back on with any great fondness.
Nevertheless, Rangers will return to Hampden in search of a shot at silverware, where they will join Celtic, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock. The occasion was at least notable for the long-awaited return of Kemar Roofe, who hadn't featured at all since the Scottish Cup semi-final back in April. He appeared for the final 15 minutes as Rangers just about did enough to see off the Dens Park underdogs.
Van Bronckhorst promised rotation for a squad already stretched by this season's rigours but he didn't switch things up quite as much as was perhaps expected. Mainstays James Tavernier and John Lundstram remained in the side, while there was a rare appearance from the lesser-seen Ridvan Yilmaz as he backed up Scott Wright on the left.
The latter was instrumental in the opener, jinking inside and smashing a powerful drive that Adam Legzdins could only parry onto the head of Davis to nod home. This was the worst possible scenario for Dundee, their gameplan up in smoke with less than 10 minutes played.
The Championship side struggled to sustain any meaningful possession, which meant their big night quickly turned into a big slog. Their 10 men behind the ball was limiting space for Rangers, however, and there was little hint of a second as the half hour mark came and went, sans Malik Tillman just being unable to control a Davis ping in behind.
Morelos was next to have a sight of goal but he blasted straight at Legzdins following Tavernier's delightful reverse pass. Yilmaz was next to have a go, trying his luck from distance but without the late dip on the ball required to trouble the Dundee keeper.
Rangers' start to the second half was again fairly flat with Dundee fairly untroubled. Wright released Yilmaz to shoot from a tight angle but he couldn't squeeze his effort inside the post. On the opposite flank, Tavernier worked his way into the box neatly on a few occasions but couldn't pick out the killer pass with Dundee players flooding the box.
The Dark Blues offered little threat of their own aside from a promising breakaway that was calmly mopped up by James Sands. Van Bronckhorst eventually rung some changes, bringing on Roofe, Scott Arfield and Charlie McCann - but still there was a lifelessness about his team that just would not shake.
Bowyer's men showed more adventure as time ticked away but, for all their late endeavour, couldn't fashion the big chance their manager will have craved.
3 talking points
Rangers still not firing
Despite another victory, it's clear Rangers are still searching for a spark to truly reignite their season. Yes, there were changes made here and Dundee rarely moved out of their own defensive third, but the Ibrox men opened them up far less than their manager would've liked.
That it took 37-year-old sitting midfielder Davis to break forward and provide the scoring touch perhaps tells its own story, as ageless as the Northern Irishman appears to be. Scott Wright was among the brighter sparks but Fashion Sakala's erraticism in possession was a feature of the 90 minutes, demonstrating why van Bronckhorst doesn't pick him every week.
Progression is really all that matters in these fixtures, of course, but the bigger picture is that Rangers remain some way off their best. And, at the moment, there's precious little indication they're about to spark into life, something not lost on the fans who greeted the full-time whistle with boos.
Yilmaz Watch
There's been a clamour among the Rangers support for the young left-back to be given a chance to show what he can do. The club paid £5million to sign the 21-year-old from Besiktas during the summer but his impact has been virtually non-existent with Borna Barisic largely still preferred at full-back.
A section of supporters have become frustrated with the Croatian, however, and it does appear as though he's been running low on confidence in recent weeks. But what did Yilmaz bring to the table in his stead? He's certainly positive in possession, looking for a forward pass whenever possible and even attempting an imaginative shot from distance that just didn't dip enough to trouble the Dundee goal.
He also showed an intention to drive inside with the ball, something you don't often see from Barisic, and is quick off the mark over the first few yards. There were signs of rust, understandable given his lack of pitch time and that was evident in the odd poor touch or overhit pass, but overall it was a promising display.
Roofe returns
It's been a long time coming but the sight of Kemar Roofe back in a Rangers shirt is a most welcome one for a side that's been badly beset by injuries in recent weeks. The Jamaica international's ability has never been in doubt but his injury record has often stopped him building any serious momentum.
But with Rangers struggling to find their attacking verve, there's suddenly an onus on the 29-year-old to provide something different because, make no mistake, he's coming into a side that needs it. His return to the pitch, and a rare Davis goal, were really the only highlights of a thoroughly uninspiring Rangers performance.
