Rangers booked a spot in a Hampden Park semi-final courtesy of a 1-0 win over Livingston on Wednesday night.
The Gers started brightly and the only goal of the game came after four minutes, with Glen Kamara’s deflected shot wrongfooting the keeper and flying into the net.
From then on, though, it was something of a struggle. The Gers centre-backs looked vulnerable and the hosts created plenty of chances in both halves.
Alfredo Morelos put in another impressive shift up front, but other than him, there was no outstanding figure in Light Blue.
That is, except for Steven Davis, and the 34-year-old didn’t even start the fixture. As predicted before the game, Steven Gerrard left the Northern Ireland skipper on the bench, fearing three games in less than a week would be too big a strain.
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Yet, he was called into action after just 22 minutes as a result of the injury to Joe Aribo.
There were no signs of fatigue once he was introduced, though. If anything, the veteran appears to be playing with more energy now than at any time since his return to the club, and he hassled and harried Livi players endlessly in midfield.
On a night when Rangers struggled to hold onto possession, the £1.80m-rated [Transfermarkt] maestro was head and shoulders above the rest at times in terms of his use of the ball. Davis has an innate ability to choose the right pass, and with the odd exception, that was on show again last night.
Furthermore, he made a massive contribution defensively for the second game running. Following his stunning double goalline block against St Johnstone on Sunday, he pulled off a key clearance in the second half. With Allan McGregor on the ground following a parry and a Livi forward about to pounce on the rebound, it was Davis who nipped in to calmly take a touch before clearing his lines to prevent a certain equaliser.
At times, he looked to cut a frustrated figure, due to others not performing to the same level he was.
His level is a tough one to reach though, despite his advancing age.
Another strong display from Davis, then, who covered near every blade of artificial turf during his 70 minutes on the pitch. Going forward, he’s absolutely crucial to this team’s chances of winning silverware.