Novo and Boyd send Gers into cup final

Fans had been thrilled to see Kris Boyd back into the team after he was was dropped for Saturday's goalless draw at Aberdeen, with one banner declaring: No Boyd, no goals, no title. But it was Novo who stole the show with two goals in the first half, before Boyd sealed the win late on.

Rangers made three changes from Pittodrie, with Steven Naismith also back in the team, while Falkirk boss John Hughes handed a debut to goalkeeper Dani Mallo, meaning Robert Olejnik was dropped to the bench.

This tie could have been so different had Falkirk taken a couple of early chances, both of which fell to Steve Lovell. He bore down on goal in the opening minutes after pouncing on a lovely pass from Neil McCann but Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor raced off his line to block the point-blank shot with his legs.

The Falkirk forward then had another go a few minutes later, this time forcing McGregor to tip narrowly past his left-hand post with a well-struck effort from just inside the box.

The Bairns were left rueing those missed chances when Rangers surged into the lead with just eight minutes gone. Pedro Mendes' corner found Madjid Bougherra, who flicked into the path of Novo at the back post and the striker bundled over the line from close range.

The pressure became too much for Falkirk and Mallo was plucking the ball out of the net again five minutes before the break when Novo raced onto a Steven Davis ball and coolly sent an angled drive into the back of the net from eight yards in plenty of space.

At the other end, Falkirk were not too far away with their attempts to haul themselves back into the tie.

Lee Bullen saw his header tipped just over by a full-stretch McGregor, before Scott Arfield fired just over with a shot which looked to be beyond the goalkeeper's reach had he been able to keep it lower.

But Rangers looked just as likely to find the back of the net again. Boyd had the final say when Mallo foolishly raced yards off his line, allowing Boyd to skip past him and roll the ball into an empty net with two minutes to go.