Scottish Cup

However, the Hibs boss was not happy with his side’s performance as they grew frustrated at not breaking down the League Two side, with Joe Newell seeing a penalty saved in the first half.

Doidge scored the winner after 69 minutes but also showed his heroics at the other end in the 11th minute, clearing a Matty Allan header off the line when the hosts were on top.

It was the Englishman’s fifth goal of the season and the former Central Coast Mariners coach was quick to praise the contribution of his talisman.

Montgomery said: “I’m really happy for Doidgey to get the goal and to get into the next round because you see some of the other results, these games are difficult and all the pressure is on us.

“Doidge is good in the box, we know that. He’s had a tough season with the eye injury then the groin injury but he’s always a threat in the box. He times his jumps well and that was the perfect Doidgey goal.

“I’m happy to get away with a clean sheet, not a pretty performance. The first half was nowhere near good enough. But the second half we were more than good enough to win.

“I’m glad you weren’t standing outside the dressing room at half-time!

“We made it difficult for ourselves but the boys responded second half and I told them afterwards we have to start better.

“Then we miss a penalty and give them another lift. So I said to the boys at half-time that we needed to be better at defending, stop making silly decisions, giving free-kicks away.

“I thought we were much better in the second half and, apart from the goal, had another couple of chances.”

Forfar Athletic boss Ray McKinnon did not think Newell’s first-half spot-kick merited referee Ross Hardie pointing to the spot.

He said: “It was a great save from the penalty – but it was never a penalty. Justice was done there.

“I’ve not seen it but one of our coaches thought we should have had a penalty as well. Andy Munro had a header and a guy has cleaned him out.”

Midfielder John Lundstram bundled in the opener in the 23rd minute after goalkeeper David Marshall had saved a penalty from captain James Tavernier before Boyle was taken away on a stretcher after landing following a duel with defender John Souttar.

Hibs defender Jordan Obita was sent off in the 68th minute for picking up the second of two yellow cards for using an arm to stop substitute Rabbi Matondo before Nathan Moriah-Welsh was shown a straight red by referee Steven McLean three minutes later for a two-footed challenge on Lundstram.

Striker Fabio Silva added a second as Rangers joined Aberdeen and Celtic in the semi-final draw, with Championship side Morton hosting Hearts on Monday night.

Hibs boss Montgomery gave a positive post-match update on Boyle, saying: “I’ve just had a report that Martin is stable and that’s the most important thing.

“Football is just a game and while Martin’s an important player for us, he’s a human being too.

“I think it’s a bit of concussion and maybe a little bit of neck pain. Fingers crossed he makes a speedy recovery because he was in a bit of pain.”

Montgomery was unimpressed with Lundstram’s reaction to Moriah-Welsh’s tackle.

He said: “I haven’t seen Jordan’s incident to be honest. I know he was on a yellow. He tried to hold Matondo off but apparently he’s caught him on the back of the head with his arm.

“Jordan is an experienced player so, if he has done something that is deemed a yellow card, you don’t want that.

“Nathan is just 21 years old, he’s new to first-team football. And, to be honest, it was right in front of me.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for John Lundstram. He’s a top, top player. But I thought the way he went down, Nathan didn’t catch him.

“I’ve seen that one back and he’s gone across him to try to block him playing a ball down the line, probably knock it out for a throw-in. But John has gone down.

“And the referee was very quick to give the card. To be honest, I was really surprised he didn’t go to the VAR monitor to have a look, considering it was three metres from where the incident happened.”

Rangers boss Philippe Clement called for “reckless” tackles to be taken out of the game as he discussed Moriah-Welsh’s red card.

He said: “If you put a hand or an arm in the face you can get a yellow, that everybody knows.

“The (Moriah-Welsh) tackle was a few yards away from me. It is a reckless tackle with the studs in front and it doesn’t matter then if you break a leg or not.

“It is just reckless. I think it is important to get that kind of tackle out of the game.

“In the last couple of weeks sometimes when we didn’t get the red card and I was not happy about that.

“I think tackles like that are not good for Scottish football, English football, Belgian football, German football. Players need to know if you tackle like that you get a red card.

“It is for nobody good because it is a danger to injure someone if you go in like that.”

The Belgian was frustrated with Dujon Sterling and his replacement Ross McCausland having to come off and both will be assessed ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League last-16 game against Benfica at Ibrox, with the tie balanced at 2-2 following last week’s game in Lisbon.

Ryan Jack, Abdallah Sima, Oscar Cortes, Kieran Dowell and Danilo are also carrying injuries.

Clement said: “I am not happy, of course, that Dujon and Ross had to come off. It is not a good thing.

“We are going to see in the next couple of days if they are going to be available for Thursday or not.”

With the Hoops 13 points clear at the top of the cinch Premiership and unbeaten in the four meetings between the teams so far this season, the Belgian midfielder is desperate for Gers to finally enjoy an Old Firm derby victory and keep alive their last remaining hopes of silverware.

“It’s very important for two reasons,” he told Sky Sports. “We need to win something for the season and it is our last chance. And also we want to win against them.

“We’ve now lost two games (against Celtic) since I came. I think the last game was close. We are not too far from them. I’m sure we can do something in the semi-final, I’m sure if we play our best we can do something good. We have to go there with a strong mentality and go for it.”

Raskin has already experienced facing Celtic at Hampden, with his first Glasgow derby bringing a 2-1 defeat against Ange Postecoglou’s side in the Viaplay Cup final in February. The 22-year-old would love to be on the other side of the result this weekend.

“The atmosphere was great, the half-and-half stadium was great, now we want to make our fans proud,” he said.

“The last time we lost this game and it was painful to see them enjoying it with their fans and see our fans sad. We will go for it.

“I am waiting to play in the Old Firm game at our stadium, I have played there (at Celtic Park) and Hampden.

“You can feel the atmosphere, it is great. When you have 60,000 that are so passionate you can feel it, it is something you don’t see in every country.

“You need to see it and feel it to understand what it is.”

Raskin joined Rangers from Standard Liege in January and he explained that one of the main things he has had to adapt to is facing opponents who sit deep when they go up against his team.

“I’ve learned that the standards at Rangers need to be high every day in training,” he said. “For every aspect – nutrition, training or sleep – you need to put your standards higher. I’m trying to do this and improve myself.

“I wouldn’t say the pace of the game is faster in Scotland than I imagined but it is different. It is a different type of game.

“Here you can face teams that just go down (deep) and then counter so you need to adapt the way you play.

“It’s good for me because I am learning to play against a low block and how to create chances against a team playing a low block.

“It’s never easy for a team to play against a low-block team that defend well. It’s good for me to see every type of team.”

The 20-year-old Colombian winger, on loan from French side Lens with an option for the Rangers to buy, had a couple of efforts on goal before he set up Borna Barisic’s low drive, which deflected in off Somerset Park midfielder Roy Syla after only 10 minutes.

However, Cortes departed after an hour with the Govan side struggling to see off the Championship side, managed by former Celtic captain Scott Brown, before on-loan Wolves striker Fabio Silva added a second in the 76th minute.

It was far from Rangers’ best performance of the season, but Gers boss Philippe Clement, who has already won the Viaplay Cup while hauling his side back into the cinch Premiership title race, will look forward to the next round.

Clement took the opportunity against the lower league side to make seven changes to his side.

Mohamed Diomande, the Ivorian midfielder signed from Nordsaelland, and Cortes were both handed their first starts with Barisic, Scott Wright, Ryan Jack, Nicolas Raskin and Silva also coming into the Rangers starting XI.

The visitors were backed by a good travelling support, who watched Cortes clip the outside of the post with a curling 20-yard drive in the second minute and had another effort saved by United goalkeeper Robbie Mutch.

Cortes was at the heart of much of Rangers’ early work and when he cut the ball back for Barisic, the left-back’s drive from 14 yards took a nick off former Albania Under-21 international midfielder Syla and wrong-footed Mutch.

Rangers dominated but after Connor Goldson lost possession, fellow Gers defender John Souttar’s saving challenge on Anton Dowds denied the Ayr attacker a shot on goal in the consequent break.

The visitors began to edge forward with growing belief, but just before the half-hour mark, Silva should have done better with a Barisic cross than heading wide from eight yards.

The lively Cortes screwed a shot just wide of the far post and a Barisic volley from a swirling Wright cross came off United’s George Stanger and keeper Mutch had to react quickly to save.

The Honest Men’s Ben Dempsey missed the target early on with an effort which should have at least been on target.

Portuguese striker Silva, booked in the first half for a foul on Nick McAllister, was perhaps lucky to escape further punishment when he appeared to leave his foot in on a tackle on Stanger and eyes went on referee Willie Collum.

Clement had on Friday backed Collum, despite Rangers reportedly asking the Scottish Football Association not to appoint the official to any of their games going forward after his part as the VAR officials in a contentious non-penalty decision which went against the Light Blues in their Old Firm derby defeat at the end of the year.

Collum took no action against Silva and United boss Brown vented at fourth official Craig Napier, and he soon saw yellow himself to the cheers of the home fans.

Clement brought on Todd Cantwell, Ridvan Yilmaz and Rabbi Matondo for Diomande, Barisic and Cortes just after the hour mark.

However, Silva ended any hopes of a shock when he fired in from 12 yards after Cantwell’s chip rebounded off the post, with VAR confirming the ball had not come off the arm of Matondo before it hit woodwork.

Former County striker Brian Graham opened the scoring for the visitors, with Scott Robinson making it 2-0 in the closing stages of the first half.

A stunning finish from Stuart Bannigan shortly after the restart put the result beyond doubt.

If memories of their last trip to Dingwall were still fresh in Partick’s minds it did not show early on as the visitors started on the front foot.

Some neat passing moves did not lead to clear-cut chances, though, and both goalkeepers had a quiet half hour.

New Ross County signing Eli King did get Jamie Sneddon scrambling across his line with an effort from a long way out that went just wide of the mark, before Partick took the lead.

A cross from Aidan Fitzpatrick on the left flank found its way to Graham at the back post, with the experienced forward tapping in.

Partick extended their advantage with the last move of the first half. Kerr McInroy charged onto a cutback to the corner of the box and saw his effort blocked into the path of Robinson, who was left with another simple finish.

Derek Adams made a triple change at the break to try and add some attacking impetus, bringing on James Brown, Jay Henderson and Jordan White, and it certainly seemed to make a difference.

Within five minutes of the restart, Yan Dhanda, Henderson and White had all had good chances – but none of them could find a way past Sneddon.

Any momentum County had been building was quickly dismissed when Stuart Bannigan scored a superb third in the 54th minute.

The ball sat up nicely for the midfielder 25 yards out and he volleyed the ball past George Wickens and into the bottom corner to seal Partick’s progress.

The 49-year-old scored a clinching third goal from the spot for Inverness when their 3-1 defeat of Celtic on February 8, 2000, sent shockwaves across the nation and beyond, the victory eliciting the famous newspaper headline “Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious.”

Derek McInnes’s side are in fine form, sitting in fourth place in the cinch Premiership but with first-hand knowledge of what can happen in cup football, Sheerin believes the Ayrshire outfit have to guard against becoming an unlikely victim when they take on Paul Hartley’s League One side on Saturday.

He said: “It is nice memories. It shows you what can happen and obviously upsets do happen.

“It was a momentous occasion for the club, they were relatively new to the league and that was part and parcel of the shock as well.

“There was belief because you always have to believe as players.

“I know Paul (Hartley) spoke about not feeling any real pressure which is understandable.

“At that time, Inverness had that mindset that there was no great pressure on us, no one expected us to do anything so that took the edge of it and we tried to enjoy it as much as we could, and obviously the way it worked out was something that nobody really expected.

“Cove will come here determined to be one of the clubs who cause an upset.

“We have done our work and hopefully that will stand us in good stead and not allow a shock tomorrow. Your attitude and application has to be spot on.

“We know what they will come with, we know shocks can happen but hopefully we will not allow that tomorrow.”

Corrie Ndaba returns after a two-game ban after being controversially sent off against Hibernian.

The defender initially saw yellow for a tackle on Jair Tavares before it was upgraded following a VAR check and it left McInnes fuming as the visitors came back to draw 2-2.

It was the 24-year-old’s first red card of his career, but he insists it will have no impact in the way he plays the game.

He said: “I was a bit surprised. I don’t think it was a red card, but the referee said from the follow-through, it was a red so there was not much I could do.

“It gets a bit technical these days. Obviously I got the ball first and the follow-through has gone into his ankle.

“I didn’t really have anywhere to put my leg, but the referee has decided to give me a red card so I have to take my medicine.

“I always tackle clean, that is the way I play so I am just going to play as normal.”

Centre-back Robbie Deas is recovering from a fractured cheekbone, while midfielders Brad Lyons and Kyle Magennis remain absent after respective cartilage and hamstring problems.

The 22-year-old Senegal attacker has scored 15 goals since arriving on loan from Brighton in the summer.

The Senegal FA confirmed Sima would return to Rangers after he picked up the injury in training and a statement warned he could face a “long period of unavailability” after failing to get any minutes in the tournament in the Ivory Coast.

The issue of injuries has peppered Clement’s time at Ibrox since the Belgian took over from Michael Beale in October and again a key player looks to be sidelined for a  period of time.

Clement watched Rangers win through to the last 16 of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup with a 4-1 win over Dumbarton in wet and wild conditions

Goals from John Lundstram, Cyriel Dessers, skipper James Tavernier – from the penalty spot – and substitute Scott Wright proved too much for Stevie Farrell’s men, who scored a consolation through Matthew Sheils.

Asked about Sima’s situation, Clement said: “It is always dangerous to hear those things when they happen when you are not there.

“I always like to hear what my medical staff think about things so Abdallah is going to come back as fast as possible.

“I was in contact with him yesterday.

“He is going to come back as fast possible to make a good assessment and to see how long he will be out.”

The Gers boss was pleased that his side “did what I asked, to be professional” against League Two opposition.

Lundstram is one of five first-team players out of contract at the end of the season but Clement has not given up on the prospect of the former Sheffield United midfielder staying at Ibrox.

He said: “It is a financial thing between him and the club.

“Both parties show interest to do that, that’s clear, so we are going to see in the next couple of weeks and months.

“He is in a situation where he can sign somewhere else but it is clear that he feels good at the club and everybody tells me he is showing a better level than he did at the beginning of this season, so I want to see him continue like that then I think there will be a solution between the two parties.”

Sons boss Farrell questioned referee Alan Muir’s decision to award Rangers a penalty at 2-0 when Carlo Pignatiello tackled Rabbi Matondo inside the box.

He said: “We have the live feed as most clubs do and I watched it back straight away and it’s not a penalty.

“I said to the fourth official when we scored (3-1) that it would have made it a five or 10 minutes, real intense and difficult for Rangers (had the penalty not been given) but the reality is he gave the penalty, they got it and scored it.

“Ultimately I think we did very well, and gave a good account of ourselves.”

Celtic full-back Alistair Johnston handled the ball inside his own penalty area in the first half of the cinch Premiership encounter at Parkhead under pressure from Gers attacker Abdallah Sima.

A goal-kick was awarded by referee Nick Walsh and the check by VAR official Collum for handball came to nothing. It later emerged through Sky Sports, who were broadcasting the match live, that there had also been an offside in the build-up.

It was widely reported that the Ibrox club had made a request to the Scottish Football Association that Collum be excluded from any involvement in any Rangers match moving forward.

Collum will take charge of Rangers for the first time since that controversial match at Celtic Park when they host Ayr in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup last-16 tie at Ibrox on Saturday.

The Gers boss said: “I am happy to be honest because when there is one moment that I thought that the referee is not neutral then I would directly quit my job.

“So I am happy that we can leave the past behind us. For me there was a fault made. It was a clear handball.

“But I am also not without fault. I make faults every day probably so I don’t look at people if they make a mistake that they are dead forever or whatever.

“No, this is a new game, a new situation so it is important not to live in the past and that is in life also important, not to live in the past.

“I don’t want my players to be living in the past few weeks or months or beginning of the season or whatever, it is about the next game and it is about performing there.

“And if we make mistakes, like I am doing and the players are doing, you expect to get new chances to prove you have become better.”

The Belgian boss confirmed he had not been involved in discussions about the Collum request made by the club

“That is something for in the club and we have talked about that,” Clement added.

Asked if he expected to be consulted if a similar situation arose, he said: “That will happen in the future, yes.”

Clement was also pragmatic about the failure to have Dujon Sterling’s red card against Aberdeen in midweek overturned.

The Light Blues unsuccessfully appealed his dismissal by referee Don Robertson for his tackle on Jack MacKenzie in the 2-1 home win.

The former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco boss said: “You don’t want to lose players but you need to accept the decision. This situation was not so clear.

“We have seen other tackles in other games where it was a yellow card.

“But that’s the thing about football. It is never black and white, there is a grey area and it is a difficult job for a referee in that grey area. I think that is also one of the charms of football.

The Honest Men are managed by former Celtic skipper Scott Brown which drew a joke from Clement.

He said: “I read that he loves Rangers and I love all the people that love Rangers.

“So that can be really good between us on the sidelines.”

Defender Ben Davies and midfielder Ryan Jack return to the squad but midfielder Tom Lawrence will be rested.

Defender Leon Balogun returns next week and will wear a mask to protect a facial injury.

There is little respite for the Light Blues, who drew 2-2 with Benfica in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie in Lisbon on Thursday night, with the return game at Ibrox next week.

The cinch Premiership leaders are now preparing for the last-eight clash with the Hibees at Easter Road, where Clement believes their focus will be “200 per cent. No doubt about that”.

The Belgian boss, whose side beat Hibernian 4-0 at Ibrox in his first game in charge of the Govan club last October and 3-0 in Leith in January, said:  “My team have been working hard all season in that way and never stopped.

“Good proof is after the Real Betis game (in December), a few days later they had the Viaplay Cup final and they were there (won 1-0).

“My team is hungry to win more trophies and we know we need to play well against Hibs because they are really hungry to beat us, apparently.

“We are going to see how people recover for the next two days and we are going to go hard to get into the semi-final because it is important.

“I have read that they (Hibs) were really unlucky in their last two games against us. So they have a lot of belief, clearly.

“So it is about us getting a good result there and qualifying.”

Clement was proud of all of his players’ efforts in Lisbon but had special praise for Portuguese attacker Fabio Silva, on loan from Wolves, who returned to a club where he spent two years in the youth system and turned in a fine performance on the left-hand side.

He said: “Fabio is growing. He is still a young player at 21. We had a lot of talks before he came to Rangers about his role and the roles he could play.

“We talked about him as a striker and also playing on the left side, or even around the striker. He can do all these roles and he showed his quality in this game.

“You see he has integrated really quickly into the squad and feels really good within the club. He plays with a smile and gives a lot of energy to the team.

“He has his qualities and is taking more and more control of his emotions. We talked a lot about that, that it’s the next step for him to take.

“I am really happy about how he handled the game in Lisbon because it was a hostile situation with a lot of attention towards him. But he played for the team, to show everybody he’s a good player.

“He played to be good player for Rangers and that’s important to me.”

The Light Blues went into the game with just two wins in eight in all competitions and on the back of a goalless draw against Dundee on Wednesday night which followed their first ever defeat by Ross County in their cinch Premiership encounter in Dingwall last Sunday.

The Gers boss, who raised eyebrows by dropping regular centre-back Connor Goldson in a reshuffle, saw striker Cyriel Dessers score a goal in each half to set up a date with Celtic on May 25 – the first Old Firm final since 2002.

“To say it’s pleasing it not a good word,” said Clement, who revealed attacker Abdallah Sima will be assessed in the next couple of days after going off early with an injury.

“It’s what I expected. It’s what I demanded, it’s what I wanted.

“It was what I knew I would get from the team, also. I was totally not pleased about the game after Ross County, with how we lost our structure and lost our normal football.

“Against Dundee, we were too much in a rush to score a goal and today we found the right balance again, what we have been doing for a lot of months.

“But it’s been challenging in the last couple of months with all the injuries and players in and out.

“We have been lacking rhythm. But today, if you see the bench, it is stronger again and that’s going to be important in the next couple of weeks when it’s one game a week.

“Before these cup semi-finals we were the only team that played during the week. It makes a different and you need to look at that if you have three games in seven or eight days.

“With players coming out of injury you cannot let them play all the minutes. It’s been a puzzle around that but now, in this last part of the season, it’s going to be a challenge in the squad with players coming back.

“Quality then rises in the training and quality rises in the game also because we have a strong bench.”

Hearts boss Steven Naismith blamed “immaturity” for failing to make more of their attacking play.

“Frustrated, disappointed with the outcome,” he said. “That is the overriding emotion.

“We got off to a terrible start, we can’t lose cheap, early goal like we did.

“But the reaction from then until the second goal was good.

“I thought we controlled the ball a lot, created opportunities and what you see is our immaturity in the final third.

“We had four or five really good situations and we either pick the wrong option, or the wrong pass or we don’t get the finish.

“And these are moments when we must hit the target or make the goalkeeper make a save or score a goal.

“That is the biggest frustration for me because we get good opportunities that we didn’t take and the goals we conceded were cheap.”

The Gers were widely lauded after a consistent run of form that saw them wipe out Celtic’s eight-point advantage at the top of the cinch Premiership to briefly take over at the summit in February.

However, they go into this Sunday’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final against on-song Hearts having been ferociously criticised after slip-ups away to Ross County and Dundee over the past week left them with just two wins from their last eight games in all competitions and their title hopes hanging by a thread.

“If you win 10 games in a row, you have more belief than when you lose two times but this is Rangers, this is a club where you always have to fight,” said Clement.

“Every point you lose, it’s like you’re going to hell. That’s this world, and that’s good. That’s also the challenge and it’s interesting to see which players can live in that way.

“But it’s an exciting place to be because on the other side you can go also to heaven when you win games and when you win trophies.

“In other teams, where it’s not so important to win points or when it’s not something dramatic when you lose points, you cannot go to heaven also because those are not the clubs that win trophies. This is something you need to embrace.”

Clement insists he is comfortable with the intense scrutiny and criticism he has faced amid Rangers’ recent “bumps in the road”.

“I know it’s part of the job,” he said. “I’ve been now more than 30 years in this world and I’ve been buried a lot of times as a player and as a manager, so I know what I’m doing in a club. I know what I’m doing in this club. I know we are on the right road together.”

Clement described the demands of being in charge of Rangers as similar to managing former club Brugge in his homeland.

“Winning, becoming champion, is the only thing that counts,” he said. “But I’ve been like that all my life. There is nobody who can be more critical than me because I want to win everything.

“Everybody who knows me from when I was a child, whether it was basketball, tennis or table tennis or whatever sport, I want to win. I made a lot of fights with my wife about that, that I wanted that mentality with my children because I did it with them also.

“If I played a game with them and they were three years old, I wanted to win. That is the mentality that is necessary in a club like this, but you need to embrace that.

“It’s also because of that that you can be successful and you can win trophies and have these exciting moments that will stay with you for the rest of your life. That is what Rangers is about and that’s why I love to be here.”

Clement galvanised Rangers earlier in the season after replacing Michael Beale in October.

Asked what he would say to supporters who fear the resurgence is fizzling out, the Belgian said: “The same thing I said in October. I think this team since October did improve in results, in attitude and resilience, and in six months they proved it several times.

“So it’s there, they can do it. They’ve shown it several times with quality. That’s what they need to do again. So, yes, my belief is there 200 per cent.”

Jota's first-half header was the difference in Sunday's 1-0 semi-final win over Rangers at Hampden Park, teeing up a meeting with Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the final.

Just one win shy from sealing the Scottish Premiership and with the Scottish League Cup already secured, Postecoglou believes Celtic are on the brink of history.

"These things you have to earn," the Celtic manager told Viaplay. "It's not just rolling up and hoping it happens.

"Rangers put in everything to try and stop us. The boys were brilliant in attack when they needed to – and defend when needed to.

"You have to enjoy it when it's hard-earned. We've given ourselves the chance to do something special."

Yet Postecoglou insisted his side are far from the finished article, despite hailing Celtic's gritty character.

"It's not just about the football and individuals, but collectively, they take hold of games and have that resilience – that's the growth of this side," the Australian added.

"We're not a top team yet. We've still a bit to do, but you have to embrace every aspect of the game to be one of those sides and we're doing that."

Rangers manager Michael Beale pulled no punches in his assessment, suggested his team have let down their supporters with their endeavours this campaign.

Beale told Viaplay: "Over the season, we've not been good enough. We've fallen short in winning silverware for our fans and the club.

"We played well in the game, we were in the game the whole time. We don't want to feel like this this time next season."

James Tavernier hit the post as Rangers looked to fight back, while Scott Arfield twice went close as Joe Hart stood firm in the Celtic goal.

A momentary lapse in concentration proved Rangers' downfall when Daizen Maeda latched onto a loose ball and Jota headed in his right-wing cross.

"We had as many chances as we probably wanted today and it comes down to us switching off in the moment," Beale added. "In their box, Joe made good saves, we missed on the rebound too.

"We played well in the game, we were in the game the whole time, so we're disappointed to not get a result as I thought we performed well enough to get one. Today is a lot of what ifs."

A typically high-tempo Glasgow derby saw Jota head in the only goal of the game just before half-time to keep Celtic's treble hopes alive.

Rangers had chances to level in the second half, with James Tavernier hitting the post, but they were unable to find a way past Joe Hart on Sunday.

Just one win away from sealing the Scottish Premiership, Ange Postecoglou's side further cemented their superiority over their rivals with a fourth win in five Old Firm derbies this season.

Rangers nearly took an early lead as the pre-match smoke cleared, with Nicolas Raskin seeing a shot from 25 yards out deflected just wide of the near post.

Celtic started to take control and tested Allan McGregor with shots from Alastair Johnson and Jota, while Rangers lost Malik Tillman to a hamstring injury just after the half-hour mark.

The Bhoys were ahead in the 42nd minute after Rangers' defence went to sleep and allowed Daizen Maeda to capitalise on a loose ball and cross from the right for Jota to head in unmarked.

Michael Beale's men started the second half brightly and Cameron Carter-Vickers had to react quickly to deny Alfredo Morelos a tap-in, before Scott Arfield forced a good save from Hart low to his right.

Tavernier hit the inside of the post with a smart effort before Fashion Sakala put the rebound into the side-netting, while Arfield hit a left-footed shot over late on as Rangers just could not find the elusive equaliser.

Steven Davis opened the scoring with an acrobatic strike and a first-half Jonjoe Kenny own goal put the Premiership champions well on course for the last eight.

There was no way back for the Hoops, who had lifted the trophy in the previous four seasons, and Allan McGregor saved Odsonne Edouard's penalty as they suffered a first defeat under caretaker boss John Kennedy.

Victory for Rangers ensured they have won three and drawn one of their four clashes against their fierce city rivals in what has been an outstanding season.

Davis gave Rangers the lead in style in the 10th minute, volleying in from close range when Joe Aribo's deflected shot looped up invitingly for the midfielder following a sharp turn and incisive run from Ryan Kent.

Edouard shot straight at Allan McGregor after creating space for himself in the Rangers penalty area, then Callum McGregor's drive deflected over the crossbar and Stephen Welsh somehow failed to finish as Celtic pressed for an equaliser.

Steven Gerrard's side doubled their lead 12 minutes before half-time, though, with Aribo conjuring up some trickery to beat Diego Laxalt before crossing from the right and Kenny turned into his own net attempting to prevent Kent from slotting home.

Celtic should have reduced the deficit when Mohamed Elyounoussi was superbly denied by Allan McGregor and Edouard volleyed wastefully over following up.

The Gers keeper did brilliantly to race off his line and thwart Elyounoussi soon after, the Celtic forward letting himself down with a poor first touch after Edouard set him up.

Allan McGregor then dived to his right to keep out Edouard's spot-kick 11 minutes from time after Aribo was adjudged to have fouled Leigh Griffiths, which summed up Celtic's afternoon.

Philippe Clement’s men returned to competitive action following the winter break and dominated on a poor, rain-soaked pitch before midfielder John Lundstram headed in at the back post in the 35th minute.

Striker Cyriel Dessers knocked in from close range just four minutes from the interval.

Stevie Farrell’s spirited side limited their cinch Premiership opponents to fewer clear-cut chances in the second half but Gers skipper James Tavernier scored a penalty in the 78th minute and, although Matthew Sheils headed in a consolation for the home side, Gers substitute Scott Wright restored the visitors’ three-goal lead moments later with a powerful finish.

The sodden Dumbarton Stadium pitch passed a lunchtime inspection and the tiny stadium with one stand was packed to its 2,000 capacity with dozens of ticket-less fans outside the ground.

Dumbarton’s back-up goalie Harry Broun was in for loan keeper Jay Hogarth, who was unable to face parent club Rangers.

For the Gers, Robby McCrorie took over from number one Jack Butland in goal but there was a familiar look to the Rangers side with new loan signing Fabio Silva on the bench.

The pitch cut up from the start as rain cascaded and Broun soon had to make a save from Dessers before Gers attacker Rabbi Matondo lifted a Ross McCausland cut-back over the bar.

Dessers drove another two efforts over the bar as the visitors’ dominance continued although, in a rare attack by the hosts, McCrorie had to move smartly to make a save from Michael Ruth at his near post for a corner that came to nothing.

It was a Rangers corner from midfielder Todd Cantwell which brought the opening goal, defender John Souttar heading on and Lundstram finishing at the back post.

The goal relaxed the Light Blues and Dessers made no mistake with his left foot after latching on to a cross from Tavernier, taking his tally to the season to 10.

Matondo came close with an effort at the start of the second half before Borna Barisic, Ryan Jack and Tom Lawrence came on for Ridvan Yilmaz, Cantwell and Nico Raskin.

Still the rain came teeming down.

From a well-worked Dumbarton corner just after the hour-mark Ryan Blair had a shot from the edge of the box blocked for a corner which caused no damage other than to remind the Light Blues there was still work to do.

Silva replaced Dessers before before referee Alan Muir judged that Dumbarton’s Carlo Pignatiello had fouled Matondo inside the box, with Tavernier powering in the penalty.

Shiels’ header from  a Ryan Wallace free-kick with two minutes remaining gave the home fans something to cheer about.

However, Wright, on for Matondo, finished off a pass from McCausland for Gers to finish on a positive.

Craig Levein’s men were on the end of an upset thanks to Nikolay Todorov’s goal nine minutes into the second half, with the Championship side knocking out their top-tier opponents 1-0.

“I think we deserved the win,” McCabe said. “Before, the message was come and show anyone watching the game that we are a good footballing team when we are on it.

“Focus on the performance levels and if we do that we can compete. When we are on it we are a good side and I think we can compete with anyone in Scotland, especially here at home. It’s a real kind of cauldron, the pitch suits us and suits the way we want to play.”

McCabe knew that coming up against a former international manager in Levein would present his side with a stiff test, but he was pleased to emerge on the right side of it.

“It’s not often you get to test yourself,” he said. “It gives you a wee gauge to where that next level is and ultimately I’m trying to get these boys, the young players, to that level and beyond.

“This is a top-level SPL side and ex-Scotland manager, so he’s no mug.”

Levein was bitterly disappointed but had little complaints about the outcome.

The St Johnstone boss said: “That was a difficult, difficult watch and I thought, firstly, Airdrie deserved to win.

“All credit to them – I’m not taking anything away from them but I thought we were really poor.

“We never, at any point, fixed it. We continually gave the ball away and we have good players who have proven they can keep the ball and build up the play through the middle of the pitch to give us chances to score goals.

“We have to look at the footage and work out what went wrong. I pretty much know what went wrong here, then we (need to) get on the training ground this week. We’ve only got a couple of days before the Aberdeen game to try (and get) ourselves back where we were.”

The 25-year-old goalkeeper has played second fiddle to Jack Butland this season but was given his chance by Philippe Clement in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup fourth-round tie at a wet and wild Dumbarton stadium.

McCrorie, whose last start before this weekend was away to St Mirren in May 2023, made a good save in the first half from Michael Ruth but in the end the cinch Premiership side ran out easy 4-1 winners.

Goals from John Lundstram, Cyriel Dessers, skipper James Tavernier – from the spot – and substitute Scott Wright rendered Matthew Shiels’ goal a consolation for Stevie Farrell’s League Two side.

McCrorie, who has had loan spells at Berwick Rangers, Morton, Queen of the South and Livingston, told Rangers’ YouTube channel: “It feels like a long time. Obviously I want to be playing a lot more than I am.

“I just like the feeling that you’ve contributed, being a part of it, just playing 90 minutes.

“It’s just something I always want to do. I think everybody is the same, that’s all you want to do in football, play games so I just make sure I’m ready for whenever I’m called upon.

“I’m not going to lie, I don’t enjoy not playing.

“I do want to be playing every week but you can’t go in a huff, you do need to be ready all the time.

“So I take a lot of pride in working hard every day, giving everything in training because I think when you do that and you come into games, you’re more comfortable and you’re ready for it.”

Rangers return to cinch Premiership duty against Hibernian at Easter Road on Wednesday night.

The Light Blues, who had a January training camp in Spain, are eight points behind league leaders Celtic but have two games in hand.

McCrorie said: “The last couple of weeks we’ve got in a lot of training but it is to set us up for the next few months.

“It will be relentless, it will be non-stop, there will be games every three days again and there is a lot to look forward to.”

The winger has been linked with clubs such as Sampdoria, Bologna and Como and his contract expires in the summer, but he was handed his first appearance of the season and tapped home from close range to round off the win.

Rodgers, who also brought 18-year-old debutant Daniel Kelly off the bench, said: “Young players have to earn the right. There’s been a lot of noise around Rocco but any young player has to earn the opportunity. I’ve given many young players opportunities in my career.

“But I like Rocco, he has qualities. He is strong, he’s aggressive, he wants to get goals. When he came on he got his goal and he had other opportunities.

“And Daniel Kelly is a young player I really like. If he keeps progressing and developing he will have a big future. He is left-sided, he is quick and strong, he presses the game very well.

“They get a taste of it and hopefully that gives them the motivation and determination to continue progressing.”

When asked about Vata’s future, Rodgers said: “That will be up to him. He’s a talent.

“It depends what the mentality is with him and his representatives. You get some young players whose representatives will tell you if they are not playing in the first team, starting, they don’t want to stay. You better go then, because you have got to earn the right.

“He is 18, I don’t need players ready at 18 unless they are real, real special talents, but by 20-21 they need to be ready.

“But you can see he has tools and this can be a really good place for him to develop.”

When asked if there was an offer on the table for the teenager, Rodgers said: “I believe so. There’s been chats around that but my focus is purely on the playing aspect. But there will be something there for him, I’m sure.”

Although he gave chances to Vata and 18-year-old Kelly and rested captain Callum McGregor, Rodgers played a strong team and saw his side progress to the fifth round with Paulo Bernardo, Odin Thiago Holm, Kyogo Furuhashi and Luis Palma also on the scoresheet.

Rodgers said: “It was a good day for both clubs. From our perspective, professionally got the job done, played some really good football, scored some good goals, could have had more but the timing was a little bit out.

“And for Buckie Thistle, it’s an amazing day. The players gave everything and the support was there for the team right to the end.”

Celtic also had four goals disallowed and saw a potential penalty for a trip on Liel Abada ruled out because of an offside after a VAR review – sparking memories of a much-discussed penalty appeal for handball from Rangers on their recent defeat at Celtic Park.

Rodgers said: “It’s protocol, according to the fourth official, they have to look to see if it’s a penalty first before they look to disallow it because it’s offside, which just seems ridiculous really.

“If it’s offside then the penalty doesn’t even matter – as we know.”

Meanwhile, any hopes Celtic had of signing Owen Beck this month have ended after the left-back came on in Liverpool’s win at Bournemouth.

The Wales Under-21 international had been linked with Celtic after an impressive loan spell at Dundee but he cannot play for another team this season after featuring for his parent club.

Vata appeared to be on the way out of Celtic amid several links with Serie A clubs but the 18-year-old came off the bench in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup fourth-round tie amid reports of talks over extending his contract beyond the summer.

The winger hit Celtic’s fifth goal from close range as the holders eased into the fifth round. Odin Thiago Holm also netted his first Celtic goal while Paulo Bernardo, Kyogo Furuhashi and Luis Palma were also on target.

But Thistle’s offside trap helped them keep the score to a respectable level – Celtic had four goals disallowed.

The Highland League side even had a couple of moments at the other end to excite their roughly 3,000 travelling supporters.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers named a strong team with only Callum McGregor rested. The captain was handed an extended winter break, thus ending a run of 59 consecutive starts for the midfielder stretching back to December 2022.

Holm made his fourth start of the season in place of McGregor while Liel Abada returned to the starting line-up for the first time since suffering a thigh injury in September.

Buckie got their first taste of VAR after two minutes when referee Chris Graham was called to his monitor to review what appeared to be a trip on Abada, but an offside was spotted in the build-up.

It would be a regular theme of the game and Buckie had another escape when a close offside decision denied Greg Taylor after the left-back’s cross had gone in off Thistle goalkeeper Stuart Knight.

The breakthrough eventually came in the 25th minute when Bernardo lifted the ball over Knight after taking Matt O’Riley’s pass in his stride.

Furuhashi had a goal disallowed after Abada was ruled offside before crossing, before Holm netted in off the post in the 33rd minute following a one-two with O’Riley.

Liam Scales headed off the bar before the Buckie fans were on their feet after centre-forward Josh Peters was played clean through. Joe Hart saved with his feet and there was a suspicion of offside – no flag was raised and Celtic played on and broke for Furuhashi to convert Abada’s low cross four minutes before the break.

There was still time for another disallowed goal before half-time with Abada again caught out from O’Riley’s pass before squaring for Bernardo to net.

Palma extended the lead in the 50th minute when he cut in from the right and fired a left-footed shot inside the near post from 20 yards.

Abada then shot wide from a simple chance before becoming the latest Celtic player to have a goal disallowed for offside.

Buckie fans dreamed again when a VAR check took place for a potential penalty after Scales grappled with Peters but the game continued.

Vata tapped home in the 76th minute after good wing play from fellow substitute Mikey Johnston.

Rodgers handed a debut to 18-year-old midfielder Daniel Kelly and brought on Stephen Welsh – but seven minutes too late for the defender to face his cousin, Peters, who had gone off for the visitors.

Knight saved well from Palma and Kelly before the Buckie players took the acclaim of their supporters.

Rodgers' side are into the quarter-finals of the Scottish League Cup after a 3-1 victory at Celtic Park.

Daizen Maeda scored twice in the opening 15 minutes during a one-sided start before Nicolas Kuhn's second-half finish made sure of victory after Mykola Kuharevich's header had the visitors back in the contest.

Celtic will face Falkirk in the next round, where Rodgers will hope his Scottish Premiership champions can replicate Sunday's fine performance.

"I thought we were excellent from the start of the game. We showed our hunger," Rodgers said after the comfortable triumph.

"We said before the game that our playmaker today would be our counter-pressing. It was there and we were winning so many second balls.

"Our only real danger was from throw-ins. They've got guys on either side who can throw it in and add a little bit of pressure and make you fret a little bit.

"We dealt well with that, and their header was a great header. We don't have any complaints. We could maybe have shifted our wall back a bit but we'll learn from that."

This victory came just a week after Celtic had dispatched the same opponents 2-0, their second victory in as many league games to start the season.

The Hoops also hammered Kilmarnock 4-0 in their Scottish Premiership opener, with an away trip to St. Mirren the next test of their title defence.

An Old Firm challenge then awaits as Celtic welcome Rangers on September 1, though Rodgers will be confident of his side's capabilities based on their early showings this term.