Nacho Novo fired Rangers in the Co-operative Insurance Cup final after helping himself to a double against Falkirk at Hampden.

Fans had been thrilled to see Kris Boyd back into the team after he was was dropped for Saturday's goalless draw at Aberdeen, with one banner declaring: No Boyd, no goals, no title.

But it was Novo - also drafted back into the starting line-up for the semi-final - who stole the show with two goals in the first half, before Boyd sealed the win late on.

Rangers must now wait until tomorrow night to discover whether they will face Celtic or Dundee United in the final on March 15 - 12 months after triumphing over United in dramatic circumstances in last year's showpiece.

Rangers made three changes from Pittodrie, with Steven Naismith also back in the team, while Falkirk boss John Hughes handed a debut to goalkeeper Dani Mallo, meaning Robert Olejnik was dropped to the bench.

This tie could have been so different had Falkirk taken a couple of early chances, both of which fell to Steve Lovell.

He bore down on goal in the opening minutes after pouncing on a lovely pass from Neil McCann but Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor raced off his line to block the point-blank shot with his legs.

The Falkirk forward then had another go a few minutes later, this time forcing McGregor to tip narrowly past his left-hand post with a well-struck effort from just inside the box.

The Bairns were left rueing those missed chances when Rangers surged into the lead with just eight minutes gone.

Pedro Mendes' corner found Madjid Bougherra, who flicked into the path of Novo at the back post and the striker bundled over the line from close range.

Novo then turned provider when he crossed for Naismith, who saw his shot blocked by Thomas Scobbie before Boyd blasted the rebound wide.

Rangers attempted to crank up the pressure further and Mendes tried his luck with a shot from distance which forced a decent save from Mallo, before Naismith sent a fierce drive across the face of goal and wide.

Boyd then stepped up for a free-kick 35 yards out, after Novo had been fouled by Steven Pressley, but the low effort failed to make it past the Falkirk wall.

The striker looked far more dangerous with a shot from the edge of the area moments later but Mallo was up to the task and punched to safety.

However, the Falkirk goalkeeper was plucking the ball out of the net again five minutes before the break when Novo raced onto a Steven Davis ball and coolly sent an angled drive into the back of the net from eight yards in plenty of space.

Novo was chasing his hat-trick and tried his luck with a superb speculative shot shortly after the restart which crashed into the advertising hoardings behind Mallo's goal.

At the other end, Falkirk were not too far away with their attempts to haul themselves back into the tie.

Lee Bullen saw his header tipped just over by a full-stretch McGregor, before Scott Arfield fired just over with a shot which looked to be beyond the goalkeeper's reach had he been able to keep it lower.

But Rangers looked just as likely to find the back of the net again.

Boyd played a pass out to Novo on the right flank while making a run into the box to meet the return ball with a volley which clipped the crossbar on the way over.

Naismith was swapped for John Fleck with just over ten minutes to go and the 17-year-old set up Boyd for the shot in front of goal but the end product was poor and Falkirk were eventually able to clear the danger.

But it was Boyd who did have the final say when Mallo foolishly raced yards off his line, allowing Boyd to skip past him and roll the ball into an empty net with two minutes to go.

Teams:

Rangers McGregor, Broadfoot, Bougherra, Weir, Papac, Davis, Mendes, Ferguson (McCulloch 86), Naismith (Fleck 77), Boyd,Novo.

Subs Not Used: Whittaker, Miller, Alexander.

Goals: Novo 8, 40, Boyd 88.

Falkirk Dani Mallo, McNamara, Bullen (Higdon 60), Barr, Pressley, Scobbie, Arfield, McBride, Cregg (Stewart 70), McCann, Lovell.

Subs Not Used: O'Brien, Holden, Olejnik.

Booked: Pressley, Barr.

Att: 24,507

Ref: C Richmond (Scotland).