Gary McAllister: Ianis Hagi provided the quality Rangers needed | OneFootball

Rangers are into the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals after they took down Livingston 2-0 on Wednesday evening.

Second-half goals from Kemar Roofe and Alfredo Morelos was the difference as Steven Gerrard’s defence didn’t allow Livi to attempt a single shot on the night.

Ianis Hagi was the spark Rangers needed as he set up Roofe less than three minutes after coming on at the intermission.

Following the match, Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister hailed Hagi’s instant impact.

“What we were asking for at half-time was that wee bit more guile and a wee bit more quality going into the corners of the box, and Ianis provided that,” he said.

“I think there’s a cleverness about Ianis and it is positional. It’s about his awareness of how to play the role.

“Sometimes you’ll see players that are really, really busy running from box to box but sometimes it’s advantageous to stand still and get your positioning right.

“He’s someone who’s watched a lot of football and his dad wasn’t bad either so he’s learned from the fact that you don’t have to be flying around the pitch to make an impact on a game.

“It’s cleverness and that’s what he brought tonight. It was a wee bit of something different and he created the first goal. We needed that to break down Livi.”

St. Johnstone also booked a place in the semis, while Dundee United will take on Hibs and Celtic will face Raith Rovers in the two other quarter-finals on Thursday.