Rangers made themselves at home at Hampden, albeit not in entirely convincing fashion , winning their first game at their temporary residence against Motherwell. It was something of an odd occasion at the national stadium as the Rangers support got used to their new surroundings on Premiership duty, but despite making things hard for themselves, they emerged as deserved victors in the end despite the game falling a bit flat after the interval. An early goal from Cyriel Dessers seemed to have set Rangers on their way after coming charging out of the blocks, but a disastrous debut own goal from Robin Propper had The Steelmen back on terms quickly, and had the small sliver of the bowl occupied by their fans dreaming of a second consecutive away victory in the league against Rangers after waiting 27 years for the last one.
Alas, a moment of real quality from Rangers new boy Vaclav Cerny soon had Rangers back in front, and that is the way it stayed despite one or two late scares for the ‘hosts’ after a flat second half from their point of view. Here are the talking points from Hampden..
. Strange old atmosphere at the national stadium You can put up as much blue signage as you like, and blast Simply the Best over the Tannoy as the teams emerge from the tunnel, but despite the best efforts of the DJ and the Rangers support, this just wasn’t the same as a home game for the Ibrox side. Fittingly for the national stadium, it was perhaps their take on Scotland staple Caledonia tha.