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Loan Watch: It's Fergie Time
Written by Newcastle Utd
Shane Ferguson made his Rangers debut on Thursday night while Haris Vuckic started their Scottish Premiership play-off match against Motherwell
By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor
Shane Ferguson made his long-awaited debut for Rangers as a second-half substitute in their Scottish Premiership play-off final first leg against Motherwell on Thursday night.
But the Gers were beaten 3-1 at Ibrox, giving them a big mountain to climb ahead of the second leg at Fir Park on Sunday.
Haris Vuckic started for Stuart McCall's side, who enjoyed most of the early possession before falling behind to Lee Erwin's deflected shot.
Stephen McManus headed home a second then Lionel Ainsworth added another shortly after the break.
Vuckic almost pulled one back when he raced onto a quickly-taken throw-in but George Long stayed big to block.
Ferguson - who was recovering from injury when he joined the Glasgow side on loan in February - was introduced in the 66th minute and saw plenty of the ball on the left wing as Rangers improved markedly with the Northern Ireland international on the pitch.
Darren McGregor pulled one back eight minutes from time and in stoppage time Vuckic, who had been quiet for much of the game, saw his shot flash across goal after a direct run took him into the box.
But Rangers now have it all to do at the weekend if they are to return to the top tier of Scottish football next season.