Rangers manager Ally McCoist admitted his relief after his Light Blues scored a late leveller against part-time League 2 outfit Albion Rovers in their 1-1 William Hill Scottish Cup quarter-final tie at Ibrox yesterday.
Ciaran Donnelly shot the visitors into a shock lead in the 13th minute after Rangers had failed to deal with a corner and the rest of the match was played out amid growing frustration within the home supporters until Bilel Mohsni equalised in the 77th minute when he bundled the ball and Rovers goalkeeper Neil Parry over the line in his determination to get to a David Templeton cross.
The two teams will meet in the replay at Hamilton’s New Douglas Park tomorrow week, with the winners taking on Dundee United in the semi-final at Ibrox.
McCoist said: ” I am obviously relived that we are still in the cup. For 70-odd minutes we weren’t going to be in the cup. But we got the break, got the goal and the main feeling is relief.
“I thought Albion Rovers defended very well but on pressure we certainly deserved to take something out of the game and the draw was what we got.
“I have had a look at the draw but, as you saw today, it would be wild of me to have the audacity to look forward to a home tie against Dundee United. I am certainly not going to do that.”
The Rovers bench complained about the leveller which required Parry to have treatment, but McCoist insisted that there was nothing controversial about referee John Beaton’s decision.
“It is a goal,” said McCoist. “If you look at Mohsni, he jumps and I don’t think he has any idea where the goalkeeper is and it hits his head and goes in. It’s a goal for me.
“I think the easy decision for the referee was to give a foul but I thought he was very brave in giving the right decision.”
McCoist did not accept that being taken to a replay by a League 2 side is an embarrassment for Rangers, who could clinch the League 1 title on Wednesday against Airdrie at Ibrox.
He said: “It is disrespectful to Albion Rovers, who knocked Motherwell out of the cup. As I keep saying, people might be getting carried away with where our club and team is at the moment. We can play better and we will play better but we kept going.”
Rovers manager James Ward wished his side’s goal had been “scored in the 94th minute” but did not want to dwell on the equaliser.
“It’s a goal, there is nothing I can do to change it,” he said. “The focus should solely be on the quality of our performance.
“We were under immense pressure in the second half and we defended manfully.
“I have been saying all week to people that we were capable of winning and no one believed me.
“We showed as a group how capable we are and the players deserve immense credit.
“It was a fantastic performance from us in terms of discipline and also organisation.”