Rangers earned their place in the Scottish Cup 5th round after a 4-1 win over Dumbarton.

Philippe Clement's side were forced to battle the elements to earn their win as goals from John Lundstram and Cyriel Dessers ultimately sealed progression.

The Rangers Review picks apart the game's big talking points below... 

Professional performance secures progression

The manner of the opening goal would have frustrated Dumbarton and conceding from a set-piece was a cheap way for them to fall behind. The Sons had to admit that the goal had been coming, though. It may have taken until 35 minutes but Rangers were well worth their advantage as their dominance – both in terms of possession and territory – paid off. Scoring from a corner – a lesser spotted inswinger no less - was a welcome bonus for Clement and it was a well-worked move that saw John Souttar flick on a Todd Cantwell corner. At the back post, Lundstram was in the right place at the right time as he nodded home from a couple of yards. Rangers should have been ahead long before that. Rabbi Matondo had to at least hit the target from inside the area after just seven minutes and he fired over later in the half. Connor Goldson was angry that he didn’t test Harry Broun but the clearest openings fell to Dessers. Each was spurned in wild fashion. When he did find his range, he doubled the lead as Tavernier picked him out and he converted from close range. The captain got a goal to add to his assist in the closing stages as he slotted his penalty beyond Broun after Matondo had been fouled. It had become a case of game management long before that stage for Rangers. Clement used the last half hour to give Nicolas Raskin, Todd Cantwell and Ridvan Yilmaz a breather. All three made the most of the chance to get back to the away dressing room early and were given warm receptions by the Rangers support as they made their way up the tunnel. Their replacements – Ryan Jack, Tom Lawrence and Borna Barisic – had to help Clement’s side over the line and into the next round. Fabio Silva was given a unique insight into Scottish football minutes later as he replaced Dessers and Wright also got a run out as he made his 100th appearance for the club. He marked it with a well-placed low drive that ended Dumbarton’s brief hopes of a comeback. It was as comfortable as Clement could have wished for.

Rangers Review:

Chris Jack

The good and bad of Cyriel Dessers

Twitter timelines were far from complimentary of Cyriel Dessers before Rangers’ No.9 made it 2-0 just before half-time - and understandably so. The Achilles heel of this team, exemplified by Dessers in the recent Old Firm, has been a lack of incision up top. Too often a lack of quality has let the side down after accessing promising positions. That was the story of this game until John Lundstram broke the deadlock from a corner. Dessers had two excellent chances on his left foot, hitting the keeper with one when through on goal and blasting the other over the crossbar. Then, just before the clock hit 41 minutes, the 29-year-old managed to piece it all together. Ghosting behind his marker, faking a run to the front post to create space for Tavernier to cross into before shifting around the back to score.

Dessers has 11 goals and assists in 13 starts under Clement, as he himself commented during an interview in La Manga: “If you look at the split of my stats before the manager came and when he did I think it is a big difference.” Do Rangers need another incisive player to make this season successful? Almost certainly. But will Dessers still have his say and a part to play? The stats suggest so.

Joshua Barrie

McCrorie merited his moment

It has been another difficult campaign for Robby McCrorie. This could have been his term to assert himself as first choice at Ibrox but he has again been left watching on from the sidelines. As frustrated as he will be, he cannot argue with the situation. McCrorie would have known the size of task ahead of him when Jack Butland was recruited in the summer and the season has played out as expected as the Englishman has established himself as No.1 and a worthy successor to Allan McGregor. McCrorie deserved this chance as a reward for his patience and his professionalism. It was never going to give Clement a decision to make ahead of the trip to Easter Road in midweek but the 25-year-old still had a job to do. Once again, he did it well. McCrorie has never let the side down in his Rangers career and this was another solid showing between the sticks, even if he'd have been frustrated to lose his clean sheet late on.

Rangers overcome underfoot conditions

Clement held his media conference on Friday before it was confirmed that a pitch inspection would be held to ensure that this fixture could go ahead. He described the surface as ‘really bad’ but he stressed that it would not be an excuse for his side regardless of what unfolded. The Belgian was perhaps kind in his assessment of the surface. It was cleared as fit for purpose at 1pm but it became evident within minutes of the warm-up commencing that it was going to cause real problems. The bounce of the ball across the rutted park could not be predicted and chunks were taken out of it whenever players went to ground in challenges. The rain that started before kick-off certainly didn’t help matters. Clement’s priority was, of course, to progress in the cup but he would have had fears at the back of his mind about his players picking up injuries on underfoot conditions that were far from conducive to passing football. Despite that, Rangers still moved the ball well at times. Their class and their quality told throughout. A potentially tricky tie was dealt with easily and it was very much a case of game won and up the road for Rangers. 

Chris Jack

Rangers Review:

How did Rabbi Matondo fare?

The Welsh winger has been handed his chance on the left with Abdallah Sima representing Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations. Although news filtering out of the camp that Sima may well have picked up a thigh injury is a huge blow for Clement. This season Matondo has shown flashes of his talent, which you could not claim he achieved the campaign before. The task for the 23-year-old is piecing together a sustained impact and threatening defences that are camped in their own box, not only when there are acres of space in which to use his speed. In that regard Matondo’s game was up and down and an admittedly tricky pitch. This wasn’t the surface for carrying the ball at pace. His late penalty win, running on the outside of his marker before being taken down, was the highlight of his evening. After 18 months at the club the time for Matondo to make his impact is now and it looks like against Hibs and St Mirren over the course of this week, further chances will arrive.

Joshua Barrie