Rangers took on an Ayr United side that featured a few familiar faces on the pitch and in the dug-out as Philippe Clement looked to maintain his excellent start as manager.
The Gers boss was able to give a couple of his January signings a game from the start with the perfect Ibrox pitch the ideal surface for Oscar Cortes and Mohamed Diomande to make an impression.
In a game that Rangers were favourites to be comfortable against Ayr United, how did the new recruits get on?
Rangers v Ayr United – Debut duo
From the first whistle, Rangers let Ayr know that they were going to be in for a tough evening.
The greasy pitch allowed Clement’s men to zip the ball about and, in just the second minute, Oscar Cortes nearly opened his account for the club.
The squad has a younger, more dynamic feel about the midfield and forward line with the early exchanges showing an intent that is sometimes missing in these games.
Diomande was taking up some good positions and playing one and two touch passes, keen to get his team on the front foot in the absence of Todd Cantwell.
It was Cortes causing the Ayr defence all the problems though and another sharp move saw him draw a save from the keeper.
A Rangers winger has to be able to add numbers and the Colombian produced in the 11th minute, picking out Borna Barisic with a neat cut-back.
It’s early days but Cortes seems to have exactly the sort of ball carrying threat and final product that we need from the wings.
The 20-year old, signed on a loan to buy deal, should have had a penalty when he was clearly taken out before the defender got that ball, Willie Collum decided otherwise.
Diomande wasn’t quite as influential but he clearly understood the brief from the manager in terms of intensity.
As far as debuts go, Rangers boss Clement couldn’t have asked for much more from the pair and they certainly didn’t look out of place or out of depth.
