Rangers' quest for four trophies this season remains on course after they disposed of Partick Thistle at the second attempt in the Scottish Cup at Firhill.

The plucky First Division outfit earned the quarter-final replay after a 1-1 draw at Ibrox last month but goals from Nacho Novo and Chris Burke helped Rangers progress this time, with both sides missing penalties, Simon Donnelly for Thistle and Daniel Cousin for Rangers.

The Gers will now face St Johnstone in the last four, with Queen of the South having already secured a place in the Hampden final following their shock win over Aberdeen on Saturday.

With crucial games against Celtic and Fiorentina looming, Rangers manager Walter Smith made seven changes from the side who booked their place in the semi-final of the UEFA Cup with a midweek win over Sporting Lisbon.

The most notable was the introduction of Steven Smith, who made his first start since 2006 after a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a series of pelvic problems. David Weir, Steven Whittaker, Burke, Steven Naismith, Kris Boyd and Novo were also given the nod for the clash in Maryhill.

Skipper Barry Ferguson and Lee McCulloch were named on the bench following their efforts in Portugal, while the suspended Kirk Broadfoot, Sasa Papac, Brahim Hemdani and Jean-Claude Darcheville were absent from the squad.

The Firhill surface was a million miles away from the lush pitch in Sporting's Jose Alvalade Stadium, with the markings from Friday night's rugby match between Glasgow and Edinburgh still visible.

Partick could have taken the lead early on when David Rowson was released through on goal and Allan McGregor was forced to race from his line to produce a last-gasp block. Marc Twaddle then drilled the rebound narrowly past the post.

At the other end, Rangers had the opportunity to put their hosts under pressure when Boyd was fouled on the edge of the box by Willie Kinniburgh. Kevin Thomson stepped up for the free-kick but his well-struck effort was parried to safety by goalkeeper Jonathan Tuffey.

Another free-kick, this time a yard in front of the corner flag, was delivered into the box by Burke to Carlos Cuellar but the Spanish defender sent his header floating inches over the crossbar.

Rangers continued to press and a snap-shot from Boyd was smothered by Tuffey, before Smith nodded straight into the goalkeeper's arms with a close-range header.

The breakthrough came after 26 minutes when Burke chipped the ball past his marker before slipping it through to Novo from the right flank for the striker to stab home from the edge of the six-yard box.

Thistle could have equalised had Donnelly's smart low shot not been blocked by the body of McGregor - instead they found themselves trailing by a second goal six minutes from the interval.

A deep cross from Novo found Boyd at the back post who nodded to Burke, allowing the Ibrox winger to loop a header over the goalkeeper from a few yards out.

The tie would have been over as a contest had Boyd buried a great chance seconds later but he was denied by Tuffey when he really should have left the net bulging.

Partick were thrown a lifeline just four minutes after the restart when Weir fouled Mark Roberts in the box and referee Iain Brines pointed to the spot.

Donnelly stepped up for the penalty but an unwanted record of never having scored against Rangers continued when the former Celtic player blasted wide of McGregor's right-hand post, with the goalkeeper diving the right way.

Rangers then claimed a Boyd shot was handled at the other end but there was no spot-kick on offer this time.

Donnelly had the opportunity to make amends for his earlier miss but was left holding his head in his hands in despair once again when his shot cracked off the crossbar and out of play.

With time fast running out for a Thistle comeback, Scott Chaplain drove across the face of goal and inches wide of the upright to groans from the vocal home crowd.

Rangers threw McCulloch and Cousin into the action late on and the latter squandered the opportunity to add his name to the scoresheet.

Burke went to ground under pressure from Kinniburgh with four minutes to go but, thankfully for Rangers, the tie was over as a contest by the time Cousin fired straight into the hands of Tuffey from the penalty spot.

Teams

Partick Tuffey, Storey (Murray 86), Donnelly (McKinlay 64),John Robertson, Twaddle, Chaplain, Archibald, Rowson, Gray,Roberts (Keegan 88), Harkins.

Subs Not Used: Hinchcliffe, Kinniburgh.

Booked: Storey, Harkins, Archibald.

Rangers McGregor, Whittaker, Weir, Cuellar, Steven Smith,Dailly, Burke, Thomson, Boyd (Cousin 85), Novo (McCulloch 77),Naismith.

Subs Not Used: Alexander, Ferguson, Furman.

Booked: Whittaker.

Goals: Novo 27, Burke 40.

Att: 9,909

Ref: I Brines (Scotland).