Rangers 5-1 Cowdenbeath - Gers easily secure passage to fifth round

Martyn Waghorn scored a hat-trick as Rangers thrashed Cowdenbeath to progress to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.

A fine effort and a pair of penalties saw the striker take his tally to 24 goals for the season, while a superb solo goal from Barrie McKay and a nice finish from Lee Wallace completed the rout.

Rangers started brightly, with McKay and Wallace providing early threats as Cowdenbeath were camped in their own half. Some lovely play from the pair provided chances for both James Tavernier and Waghorn, but neither could convert.

When the deadlock was broken, it was only a surprise it took so long. Some fine play ended with Kenny Miller finding Wallace in the area to slot the ball between the goalkeeper's legs and put Rangers into the lead. A mistake from Dominic Ball at one end and a poor miss from Gedion Zelalem at the other saw the score remain 1-0 in the immediate aftermath, but McKay soon had other ideas, mounting a superb solo run from his own half, skipping past five Cowdenbeath players and curling the ball into the far corner past Sneddon to make it 2-0.

Rangers looked set for more goals, although Cowdenbeath pulled one back before the end of the half, with Dean Brett scoring a superb free-kick to reduce the deficit at half-time. Rangers returned after the break with renewed intent, however, and Miller saw a shot cleared off the line before Waghorn tested Sneddon with a curling effort. Cowdenbeath were unable to hold on, though - Zelalem soon found Waghorn with a cute backheel in the area before the striker shifted it onto his left foot and blasted it into the back of the net.

Rangers soon added to their tally after Tavernier won a pair of penalties after twice being chopped down in the box, and Waghorn duly stepped up to coolly slot both away and complete his hat-trick. Tavernier continued to menace in the closing stages, but twice opted to go for goal himself instead of picking out a teammate, missing the target both times.

All in all, a great performance and progression to the next round comfortably sealed. The draw will be on Monday at 6:15pm on Sky Sports News. Linlithgow Rose, we're coming.