Derek McInnes finally broke his winless run at the helm of Rangers, guiding the Glasgow side to a commanding 5-1 triumph over the defending champions St Mirren and booking a place in the Scottish League Cup quarter‑finals. Their next opponent will be none other than arch‑rivals Celtic, setting up a classic showdown in the latter stages of the competition. The match got off to an early spark when Ryan Naderi, who was positioned ahead of the established captain Lawrence Shankland, found the back of the net for his first goal since April. Naderi’s strike gave Rangers an early lead and was quickly followed by a spectacular long‑range volley from summer acquisition Vanja Dragojević, who celebrated his inaugural goal in the Rangers shirt with a thunder‑clap from outside the box.
St Mirren attempted to respond, and on the half‑hour mark Chris Mochrie produced a dazzling effort of his own, curling the ball past the keeper. However, the visitors could not sustain the pressure and Rangers began to dominate the second half.
New signing James Penrice demonstrated his vision by threading a clever pass to Djeidi Gassama, who slotted home to make it 3-0. Penrice then capped an impressive debut by adding his own goal in the 54th minute, further extending the lead. The misery for the Buddies continued when substitute Ross McCausland, making his first appearance for Rangers in 16 months, found the net shortly after Ivor Pandur had saved a penalty attempt by Killian Philipps. The final scoreline of 5-1 reflected Rangers’ superiority throughout the encounter and secured their progression to the next round.
In other fixtures, both Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian comfortably advanced, while a remarkable upset saw lower‑league side Stenhousemuir eliminate last season’s semi‑finalists Motherwell. The dramatic extra‑time winner was supplied by Euan O’Reilly, giving the Scottish Championship club a place in the last eight and extending manager Marvin Bartley’s unbeaten start to seven games in charge of the Warriors. Fans of the Scottish Premiership can now tune in on their mobile devices to catch the live action, and highlights are available for free online.
At Tynecastle Park, Wouter Vrancken’s Hearts endured a scare from second‑tier Inverness Caledonian Thistle but recovered spectacularly. After falling behind, the home side unleashed a flurry of goals in the closing stages, ultimately winning 6-2. Goals came from Christian Borchgrevick, Rogers Mato, James Wilson and Claudio Braga, while makeshift left‑back Calvin Miller, playing out of position, bagged a brace to complete the rout.
Across the city, David Gray’s Hibernian also edged past Championship opposition. Owen Elding’s first‑half strike proved decisive as the Hibees held on to beat Partick Thistle, securing their place in the next round of the cup. The upcoming fixtures in the competition include Stenhousemuir versus Heart of Midlothian, Ross County taking on Hibernian, and a Kilmarnock‑Aberdeen clash, all of which promise further excitement as the tournament narrows down to its final stages.
For those looking for a chance at a big prize, the Super 6 promotion offers a free entry to win £1 million, adding an extra layer of incentive for fans to stay engaged with the Scottish football season.