Rangers proved too strong for Ross County who fell to a 4-0 defeat at Ibrox.
Although the Staggies showed early signs of promise in the game, their resolve was broken by John Lundstram’s deflected effort midway through the first half.
County were never able to fully recover, with Antonio Colak’s double and a Steven Davis goal securing the points for the Glasgow outfit.
Rangers came into the game in buoyant mood, having qualified for the group stage of the Champions League in midweek.
The absence of Jack Baldwin and Ross Callachan through suspension created voids down the spine of County’s side, with club captain Keith Watson and Victor Loturi drafted in as replacements. There was also a first start for George Harmon, who replaced Josh Sims to take up a role on the left side of the Staggies’ three-man midfield.
Rangers started the match with early intent, with Ryan Kent narrowly missing the target with a strike from the edge of the box after cutting in from the left.
The Staggies survived a scare on nine minutes when Scott Wright’s delivery was flicked on by Antonio Colak before falling for Connor Goldson, with Ross Laidlaw forced to show bravery to block at the feet of the defender.
County were causing problems down the left flank, with Olaigbe showing excellent footwork to get to the byline before sending in a dangerous cross which was well cut out by Jon McLaughlin.
The visitors were riled by referee Don Robertson’s failure to award a foul when James Sands appeared to bundle Jordy Hiwula to the ground, with the defender the last man and already on a booking by that point.
Rangers began to ramp up the pressure around the 20 minute mark, with a low drive by Malik Tillman forcing good reflexes from Laidlaw, who also had to palm away a looping effort by the American moments later.
The hosts did get their breakthrough on 24 minutes, albeit in unfortunate circumstances for the Staggies. Lundstram took aim with a strike from the edge of the box, with Purrington throwing his head in the way of the effort but inadvertently wrongfooting the grounded Laidlaw in doing so.
Rangers looked to add to their advantage, with Kent off target with another effort, however the home side doubled their advantage six minutes before the break. Wright picked out Colak from the right flank, and although he didn’t get the cleanest connection on the effort, it was enough to send the ball into the far corner past the reach of Laidlaw.
James Tavernier was inches from adding a third on the stroke of half-time when he nodded off the bar from point-blank range, after being picked out by a Kent cross from the left.
Rangers began the second half on the front foot, and were close to adding to the scoresheet on 54 minutes when a lofted effort by Kent was headed off the line by Purrington following a goalmouth scramble.
The Gers were not to be denied on 59 minutes. It was a fine move which saw Kent link up with Lawrence, before slipping a pass to the feet of Colak to lift a strike over Laidlaw.
Laidlaw had to be on top form to prevent further damage, with an outstretched save thwarting a deflected Lawrence effort, while the Staggies goalkeeper did well to block a Colak effort to deny the Croatian his hat-trick.
Rangers did make it four on 80 minutes, with a Tavernier cross coming all the way through to substitute Davis who was able to guide the ball home.
With the game long beyond the Staggies, Mackay took the opportunity to introduce 16-year-old defender Dylan Smith for his debut in the latter stages, however it was an afternoon of few positives for the Dingwall men.
RANGERS (4-3-3) – McLaughlin 6; Tavernier 6, Goldson 7, Sands 5 (King 46), Barisic 6; Lawrence 8, Lundstram 6, Tillman 7 (Arfield 62); Wright 6, Colak 8 (Davis 72), Kent 7 (Matondo 62). Subs not used – McGregor, Yilmaz, Jack, Sakala, Devine.
ROSS COUNTY (4-3-2-1) – Laidlaw 7; Johnson 6, Watson 6, Iacovitti 6, Purrington 6; Cancola 6, Loturi 5 (Tillson 46), Harmon 5 (Edwards 55); Olaigbe 6 (Smith 84), Dhanda 6 (Sims 76); Hiwula 6 (White 76). Subs not used – Eastwood, Munro, D Samuel, Paton.
Referee – Don Robertson 5
Attendance – 48,899
Man of the match: Antonio Colak
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