Ayr proved the anticipated breeze for Rangers at Hampden Park as the Scottish Cup holders secured their place in the final in resounding fashion.

A walkover was predicted beforehand and once Rangers moved into their stride after a sluggish opening it certainly proved a stroll for Dick Advocaat's men in a commanding display.

As a meaningful contest it lasted a lively half hour during which period Ayr matched Rangers in virtually every regard with the exception of finishing … and it was to prove a crucial difference.

While Ayr snatched at their few openings, Rangers made short work of theirs, Seb Rozental converting the first on 19 minutes and nine minutes later Andrei Kanchelskis doubled that advantage.

At that point Ayr's self-belief all but vanished and Rangers, whose start to proceedings had been faltering at best, eased into gear with Rod Wallace making it an emphatic 3-0 by half-time.

Billy Dodds was introduced as a substitute at the break and capitalised on the groundwork of those before him with a stylishly-taken second-half hat-trick.

The first on 67 minutes followed outlandish skill by Kanchelskis, while his clinical second emphasised the gulf in resources between the two teams as Ayr were unable to bridge the class divide.

With four minutes remaining it was three to Dodds and six to Rangers as he nodded in a Kanchelskis cross over a badly positioned Marius Rovde … but the rout was not yet complete.

In the final seconds another substitute, Neil McCann, had the freedom of the national stadium on the left before unselfishly picking out an unmarked Rozental for 7-0.

Ayr had missed a dream opportunity after just five minutes when Glynn Hurst's flicked header fell kindly for Gary Teale but he fired wide from eight yards with only goalkeeper Stefan Klos to beat.

Rangers wasted a chance to calm their nerves when another accurate Van Bronckhorst corner gave Amoruso a free header the Ibrox skipper conspired to send over the bar when well placed.

Hurst was causing problems for the Rangers backline and after beating Amoruso in the area struck a half-volley on the turn which sailed over but again signalled Ayr's attacking intent.

Van Bronckhorst thumped a powerful volley just over for Rangers after 18 minutes but the overwhelming favourites for the tie were struggling to find their usual momentum.

It was not, however, to stop them from taking the lead a minute later, Arthur Numan's long searching pass finding Wallace in space with the time to look up and find a man.

He opted to square the ball for an unmarked Rozental, who put his recent below-par form behind him to turn the ball in from close range past Rovde for a 1-0 lead.

Moments later a neat exchange of passes between Hurst and Tarrant set up the former player for another run at Klos but his shot was looped harmlessly over the crossbar to spoil the move.

Jorg Albertz sent a speculative 35-yard drive narrowly wide as a riposte, but Ayr's danger was to be extinguished in more straightforward manner in Rangers' next attack.

Numan's chipped pass was met by Van Bronckhorst's head and seized on by Kanchelskis, who stepped inside and struck a low shot under Rovde to lift Rangers 2-0 ahead without being in full stride.

Rovde was then forced into a smart save in the 41st minute when Barry Ferguson's shot from distance was deflected after the Scotland midfielder had been played in by Numan.

Rangers effectively settled the contest on 42 minutes when Duffy was beaten by the bounce from an Albertz ball upfield and Wallace raced on to slide the ball in via a post for 3-0.

Rangers made a change at the break, bringing on both Dodds and McCann for Wallace and Albertz respectively, and Advocaat drew on his squad to complete the job.

Ayr almost earned a consolation strike after 52 minutes when Wilson burst into space but his well-controlled shot on the run went just off target, ending up in the sidenetting.

Klos then had to push a looping Hurst header over the bar from a Teale corner as the 10,000-strong Ayr support encouraged their players forward despite being firmly out of contention.

The tempo of the game had now dropped greatly, though Dodds seemed determined to make an impact, going close at the near post and then seeing another deflected effort fly wide.

The extent of Rangers' dominance was summed up by their fourth goal, which started in extraordinary manner as Kanchelskis literally stood on the ball before finding Claudio Reyna.

Kanchelskis, his showboating complete, then ran into space on the left and after being fed the ball took it to the byline before crossing for substitute Dodds to tap into an empty net for 4-0.

Kanchelskis was emerging as the game's dominant figure and almost claimed his second goal and Rangers' fifth after 72 minutes with a stunning angled drive which fizzed just over.

A minute later and Rangers were five up as Rozental threaded a pass through for Dodds, who sidestepped Rovde expertly before clipping the ball into an empty net.

Ayr's response to that was a male streaker emerging from their support and reaching the centre circle before being halted … finding, like his team, naked ambition only gets you so far.

The supporter in question missed Dodds seal a second-half hat-trick after 86 minutes with a simple header, while it was left to Rozental to tap in a crushing seventh in the closing moments.

Teams:

Ayr: Robde, McMillan, Robertson, Shepherd (Scally 58), Campbell (Craig 77), Duffy, Teale, Wilson, Hurst, Tarrant, Reynolds (Lyons 70).

Rangers: Klos, Amoruso, Numan, Ferguson, Kanchelskis, Van Bronckhorst (Tugay 68), Wallace (Dodds 46), Albertz (McCann 46), Reyna, Rozental, Wilson.

Goals: Rozental 18, Kanchelskis 27, Wallace 41, Dodds 66, 72, 86, Rozental 89.

Att: 38,357

Ref: John Rowbotham (Scotland).