GRAHAM DORRANS was frustrated with Rangers’ performance against Partick Thistle as they progressed to the semi-finals of the Betfred Cup.

Pedro Caixinha’s side were on course for the last four thanks to Carlos Pena’s second half header but a Kris Doolan strike ensured the tie went to extra time.

A quickfire double from Daniel Candeias and Eduardo Herrera was enough to send the Light Blues through to the next round as they warmed up for Saturday’s Old Firm showdown with a welcome Firhill triumph.

It was another mixed performance from Caixinha’s side as they emerged as deserved winners on the night and ensured they didn’t slip up for the second time against the Jags.

But midfielder Dorrans knows the Gers must raise their game and hit the heights more often after Thistle were again left to ponder what might have been.

He said: “To be honest, I don’t think we played well enough for the 90 minutes. We didn’t start playing until extra time, which wasn’t good enough.

“But it is a cup game, it is about getting through to the next round and we managed to do that thankfully.

“I think we got more confident after we scored the goal, we got braver on the ball, we started making passes and keeping the ball much better than we did for the 90 minutes.

“I think that helped and the goal settled us down a bit. Thankfully we are in the next round and that is all that matters.

“I would have liked us to play better, but we won the game and we are in the next round.

“I think everyone wants us to play do better, we need to play better and hopefully we can do that.

“It is all about getting into the next round and we done that. Hopefully we get a good draw in the semi-finals and we can push on from there.”