Rangers secured their place in the semi-finals of the Scottish Premiership playoffs courtesy of a 1-1 draw with Queen of the South at Ibrox this afternoon, clinching a 3-2 aggregate triumph over the two legs.
The home side threatened in the opening minutes of the match when Lee Wallace played a neat one-two with Haris Vuckic to carve out a chance for Nicky Clark, but the forward's effort went wide of the post.
Rangers pressed forward again as Vuckic caused problems in the final third with a low ball across the face of goal, which was collected by Nicky Law, but his effort was saved by Zander Clark before being cleared.
Vuckic almost unlocked the Queen of the South defence when he drove at goal and found space for a strike from 30 yards, but his effort towards the bottom corner was kept out by Clark.
The visitors took the lead on the day when Daniel Carmichael was allowed space to lift a cross into the box for Derek Lyle to power past Cammy Bell from close range.
The home side almost hit back as Vuckic fired a free kick at goal from distance, but once again he was denied by Clark.
In the second half, the Gers almost responded when Richard Foster raided down the right and lifted a cross to the back post for Kenny Miller, but his header was stopped on the line by his namesake in the Queen of the South goal.
The visitors had a great chance to extend their lead when Gavin Reilly was played through on goal, but he lost his composure at the vital moment and his poor touch was gathered by Bell.
Rangers equalised in the 60th minute when Vuckic lifted a cross into the box which was headed into the path of Wallace by Clark, and the skipper made no mistake dispatching his strike into the net.
The home side almost took the lead in the match as Vuckic picked out the run of Clark down the left inside channel, but his strike towards the near post was beaten away by Clark.
Queen of the South pushed to get back into the match and almost retook the lead when Lewis Kidd headed the ball towards goal. His effort beat Bell, but Vuckic was on hand to clear the ball off the line.
Rangers held out for the win and will now play Hibernian in the semi-finals of the playoffs, starting next week.
Simon Sinclair
