Rangers needed penalties to get the job done but recorded a fantastic win over Solihull Moors to book a Challenge Cup quarter-final with Wrexham next month with an Ibrox flop missing the vital spot kick.
The hosts had the better of the early exchanges with a couple of corners and dangerous crosses posing problems for the young Gers defence.
The pressure paid off as Callum Howe rose highest to a long throw into the box and looped his header into the corner of the net to give the Moors a deserved lead after eight minutes.
The lead didn’t last long though as Jamie Barjonas kept up his record of scoring worldies by taking a touch to compose himself then firing home from distance and leaving the keeper with no chance.
Barjonas’ goal seemed to put the wind in Rangers’ sails as they began to push forward and exploit gaps in the Solihull defence but couldn’t take advantage.
First-team outcast Eros Grezda looked lively and had a good chance to fire the Light Blues ahead after Nathan Patterson released him but Ryan Boot saved well to deny the Albanian.
Howe then came within inches of firing the hosts back in front as the ball cannoned around in the area but Rangers somehow managed to clear the danger to the relief of the few hundred Gers fans in the corner of the ground.
It really should have been 2-1 after 22 minutes when Yussuf nicked the ball away from Williamson before feeding in McCallum but he fired high over the bar and out of the stadium.
Budinauckas then came to the rescue for Rangers when he was down quickly to save from a corner and keep the scores level as Solihull looked to shell balls forward with half-time looming.
Both sides were having their chances but individual errors often saw moves break down as players struggled to find their footing on the slippery surface.
Adi Yussuf made it 2-1 ten minutes before the break as he headed home brilliantly from Callum Howe’s lay-off from a deep free-kick.
The Moors’ set-piece was well-worked although Graeme Murty will undoubtedly have questions about the Gers defending.
Yussuf had the ball in the back of the net almost a minute later before it was disallowed for handball.
Grezda was next to cause problems for the hosts with a driving run from deep but he couldn’t get an angle for the shoot and the move broke down as Solihull cleared their lines.
After going in 2-1 down at the break, the Gers made an attacking switch at the break as Ben Williamson was replaced by Serge Atakayi.
The Gers didn’t waste time in getting forward after the restart with Atakayi twice making bursting runs beyond the Moors defence but couldn’t test the keeper.
Referee John McLoughlin then caused massive confusion as he stopped play when Nathan Blisset pulled up clutching his hamstring despite the ball still being in play.
Moments after that the Banter Years reared their ugly head as Newcastle Five flop Gael Bigirimana made his debut from the bench for Moors just hours after signing for them.
Atakayi continues to bamboozle the Solihull defence as he made yet another impressive run but could only fire his shot into the side-netting as the Rangers youngsters looked for an equaliser.
Then there was a hammer blow with 30 minutes remaining as skipper Darren Carter expertly curled home a free-kick from the edge of the area to give them one foot in the next round.
Bigirimana’s first real involvement was to give away a free-kick up the other end of the pitch as Dapo Mebude shaped to shoot but Rhys Breen fired it high over the bar.
The two-goal deficit didn’t last for long however as Kai Kennedy done fantastically to dispossess Yussuf and drive forward before feeding Grezda in on the edge of the area.
The Albanian cut inside and fired low into the keeper’s near-side to open the game right back up again.
Rangers seemed to find more confidence from the goal and again started causing difficulties for the Moors defence and forcing Boot into action with Atakayi again hitting the side of the net.
There was almost an equaliser as Grezda’s pace sent him in behind the hosts defence from James Maxwell’s pass but Grezdas cross was just too high for Debude to connect with.
Murty threw caution to the wind with ten minutes to go as Ciaran Dickson was replaced by Nathan Young-Coombes in search of a third goal to level the tie.
It came just minutes later after some interplay as Eros Grezda grabbed his second of the night and brought the Gers level with seven minutes remaining.
Somehow, Young-Coombes was denied when his the Gers countered quickly and thought they had taken the lead but the former Chelsea kid’s shot was knocked wide of the post for a corner.
With only seconds remaining the Gers almost snatched a winner as Grezda broke at pace and released Kai Kennedy but his shot was tipped just over the bar to deny the Scotland youth international to send the game to penalties.
After a series of composed penalties from the Gers, Bigirimana had to score to keep his side in it only for Budinauckas to save his penalty and send Rangers through.