Goal king Arthur Numan struck again at a blustery McDiarmid Park on Sunday evening as Rangers cruised into the fourth round of the Tennents Scottish Cup at the expense of St Johnstone.

The Dutch defender scored his first ever goal for the Ibrox club against Aberdeen eight days ago and arrowed in another from the edge of the area four minutes before the interval.

Fellow countryman Giovanni Van Bronckhorst doubled Rangers' advantage midway through the second period as the visitors exploited the driving wind and rain to maximum advantage.

Saints never remotely threatened a shock win after Nathan Lowndes' 14th minute effort and once the visitors took the lead, the game's destiny was determined.

With Billy Dodds suspended, Rangers coach Dick Advocaat turned to veteran striker Gordon Durie to partner Rod Wallace up front.

Tugay Kerimoglu was again on the bench but the Turkish international was probably thankful as the driving wind and rain were hardly the most appetising of conditions in which to make a debut.

Lowndes overcame injury worries to start the game but lasted less than an hour before giving way to Miguel Simao.

The Salford-born striker had come within a inch of breaking the deadlock in the first half.

Taking a lay-off from Graeme Jones, Lowndes swivelled neatly before curling his shot against Stefan Klos' left-hand post with the Rangers keeper beaten.

But it was one of few chances for the home side, who failed to make the most of distinctly unpleasant conditions.

Too often, they allowed they attempted unnecessary passes in areas where a fierce shot could have done more damage.

Numan took the hint to put the visitors ahead and after the interval both Jorg Albertz and Andrei Kanchelskis tried their luck, Main reacting brilliantly on both occasions.

There was little to warm a 9,000 crowd during the opening period.

Giovanni Van Bronckhorst tried to prompt Rangers into action but the Saints defence generally remained strong.

At times, Wallace drifted back to the halfway line in search of possession and Van Bronckhorst wasted a decent opportunity by blazing over from 10 yards after Jorg Albertz had found the Dutchman in space.

With the Rangers danger-man apparently under control, the home side made the fatal mistake of believing Numan's goal against Aberdeen had been a one-off.

Sadly for them, they were proved wrong, although Numan has now probably raised unrealistic expectations of his scoring talents.

Rangers made better use of the conditions when they emerged after the interval but St Johnstone improved as well against the team which defeated them in both domestic cup competitions last term.

Barry Ferguson and Craig Moore both had to be alert to smother scoring opportunities for John O'Neil and Lowndes, although considering it had been Moore's error which had created the first chance, he was only making up for his own mistake.

Rangers continued to carry the major threat, even after Simao's introduction and, after Main had given the impression of a one-man barricade, Van Bronckhorst beat him with an excellent strike following a neat one-two with Kanchelskis.

With a place in the Dutch Euro 2000 squad up for grabs, Van Bronckhorst knows he needs a succession of impressive performances to cement his place in national coach Frank Rijkaard's plans.

The odd goal is bound to aid his cause, so there was more reason to celebrate than just the knowledge that Rangers had advanced to the last 16.

Durie should have made it three after substitute Neil McCann had provided the perfect cross for the former Scotland international on the edge of the six-yard area.

But somehow Main managed to palm his header away for a corner.

McCann wasted another decent chance by chipping his shot wide from a central position late on.

But a wider winning margin would have been harsh on the St Johnstone keeper.

Teams

St Johnstone: Main, Weir, O'Neil, Kane, Lowndes (Simao 57), Bollan, Griffin, O'Halloran, McBride (McAnespie 69), Dods, Jones.

Subs Not Used: McCluskey.

Rangers: Klos, Moore, Amoruso, Numan, Ferguson, Kanchelskis (Reyna 83), Van Bronckhorst, Wallace (McCann 67), Albertz (Kerimoglu 81), Vidmar, Durie.

Goals: Numan 42, Van Bronckhorst 65.

Att: 9,099

Ref: J Rowbothan (Scotland).