BOYDIE IS A FALLING IDOL; Kris dive takes shine off Rangers victory.

Byline: Colin Duncan

QUEEN OF THE SOUTH 1

RANGERS 2

KRIS BOYD'S face matched the colour of his crimson shirt as an Eduardo-style dive marred Rangers' hard-fought victory against Queen of the South.

The sheepish striker found himself at the centre of a cheating storm as Walter Smith's men booked their place in the Co-operative Insurance Cup quarter-finals.

A first-half Stevie Naismith strike and a late clincher from substitute Nacho Novo saw off spirited Queens but the win was overshadowed by Boyd's crude attempt to con referee Willie Collum into a penalty award.

The Rangers hitman was booked midway through the first period for throwing himself to the floor as Ludovic Roy dived at his feet.

Quickly realising the error of his ways an embarrassed looking Boyd immediately held up his hands to the play-acting, although by then the damage had been done.

He was jeered throughout the rest of the match by the home supporters who were finally, and deservedly, given something to cheer in injury time when Bon Harris crashed home a stunning consolation.

The Dumfries club gave a terrific account of themselves and the result might have been different had David Weatherston taken the gilt-edged chances that fell to him either side of the interval.

It was pretty much a full-strength Rangers side that took the field.

Perhaps Smith was unwilling to take risks against a Queens side going well in the First Division and who caused Rangers major problems in the 2008 Scottish Cup Final before going down 3-2.

Clever

Changes from Saturday's 0-0 draw with Kilmarnock saw Madjid Bougherra back from a one-match suspension to partner skipper Davie Weir at the heart of the defence and keeper Neil Alexander making his first start of the season in place of the rested Allan McGregor.

Nacho and Lee McCulloch were relegated to the bench and John Fleck dropped out. Kevin Thomson and Jerome Rothen started.

A Champions League finalist with Monaco, it's hard to imagine what Frenchman Rothen must have made of Palmerston Park.

It had been 26 years since Rangers' last visit and the compact little ground hadn't changed much. There were 6500 punters shoe-horned in for the SPL champions' visit, many of them standing on the terrace behind one of the goals.

It was a real throwback to another era with Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline being given big licks before kick-off. Apparently it's still No.1 in these parts.

After consecutive 0-0 draws in the SPL, Rangers arrived in the South of Scotland eager to re-establish themselves as the country's top side.

Smith's men began as if they had a point to prove.They were first to every ball as their lower league opponents struggled to find their feet.

Rangers could have gone ahead in 12 minutes when Steven Whittaker met Rothen's corner perfectly but his bullet header flashed just over.

The early pressure all came from the visitors and it was no surprise when they took the lead four minutes later with a sweeping move that sliced the Doonhamers wide open.

Pedro Mendes picked out Boyd on the right flank with a clever arcing pass that caught ex-Ibrox youngster Harris on his heels. Boyd raced into the penalty area and while his initial instinct must have been to shoot he wisely squared for Stevie Naismith to slot home at the back post.

It was all Rangers for the first quarter of this contest, although the momentum appeared to swing after that 25th-minute booking for Boyd's dying swan act.

The home fans were on his case and from that moment until the half-time break Queen's dominated and were unfortunate not to go in for their cuppa on level terms.

On the half-hour mark, Derek Holmes went close with a raking drive after good work on the right wing by Weatherston.

Then the powerfully-built forward outjumped Sasa Papac at the back post but couldn't quite get enough purchase on his header to trouble Alexander.

Paul Burns had a great opportunity to restore parity before Weatherston spurned the best chance of the lot on the stroke of half-time.

Stevie Tosh's lobbed pass split the defence, leaving Weatherston in a straight sprint with Bougherra. The Queens hitman managed to win the race and lifted the ball over Alexander but could only look on in frustration as his effort drifted inches wide.

Two minutes into the second period, Weatherston again found himself staring down Alexander from a perfectly-weighted Barry Wilson pass. AgainWeatherston did the hard part, bringing a bouncing ball under control but again he was to be denied, this time the Rangers keeper making a terrific stop with his legs.

Queens suffered a blow when Tosh left the field on a stretcher after a collision with Steven Davis.

His replacement, ex-Celt Rocco Quinn, almost made an immediate impression with a glancing header that Alexander did well to hold.

Rangers also had chances to wrap it up through Papac and Bougherra before their keeper pulled off the save of the match in the 75th minute.

Holmes' spectacular overhead kick looked destined for the bottom corner until Alexander somehow managed to throw himself the full length of his goal to keep it out.

It was a massive let-off and Smith's men took advantage three minutes later when substitute Nacho Nacho latched on to a sublime Davis pass and calmly slotted the ball past Roy.

Queen's scored at last when Harris curled home a terrific left-foot strike from 20 yards in injury time but it was just too little too late.

CAPTION(S):

POINTS MEAN PRIZES: Kris Boyd hails Nacho Novo after the Spaniard had struck Gers' second while, below, the Scots hitman is booked for taking a tumble