Attendance 30,220
Rangers made a winning return to Ibrox Stadium this afternoon with a 2-1 win over Newcastle United thanks to goals from Kenny Miller and Steven Naismith.
On a hot sultry day, there was a healthy turn-out of Geordie fans who had travelled from the North-East.
The visitors enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening stages - and might have taken the lead in sixteen minutes when Andy Carroll's header from a Joey Barton corner was blocked on the line.
The opening goal when it arrived seven minutes later however came at the other end - Miller heading home a Steven Whittaker cross.
Rangers appeared content to hit Newcastle on the break as the half developed - and enjoyed that one-goal advantage at the interval.
Five minutes after the restart Madjid Bougherra was just wide of the target with a header from a Steve Davis free-kick.
Kirk Broadfoot was denied in 57 minutes when his shot from a Davis pass was clawed away by United goalkeeper Steve Harper and then on the hour Miller headed over from a Bougherra chip.
Two minutes later Manager Walter Smith made a double substitution, introducing Gregg Wylde and Kyle Lafferty for Sasa Papac and Miller.
Rangers doubled their lead in 65 minutes when Naismith slotted the ball home following a superb Davis break.
Former Ibrox star Peter Lovenkrands received a warm ovation from the crowd three minutes later when he replaced Jonas Gutierrez, and within sixty seconds the Dane had reduced the deficit when he turned the ball home after Kevin Nolan's shot had been parried by Allan McGregor.
Andrew Shinnie came on for Lee McCulloch immediately thereafter.
Lafferty tested Harper with a twenty-yard shot from a Naismith knockdown that the 'keeper held in 79 minutes.
Sixty seconds later there was another twin substitution for the home side when Kyle Hutton and Andrius Velicka replaced Davis and Naismith.
McGregor kept rangers ahead in 81 minutes when he turned over Nolan's 25-yard drive.
That man Lovenkrands almost levelled the score in the dying seconds when he played a one-two with fellow sub. Shola Ameobi before seeing his shot blocked by McGregor.
At the final whistle the dane was the alst to leave the field of play, applauding all four sides of the ground.
Afterwards Walter Smith reflected:
"Newcastle made us work very hard. We got a really good result with a hard-working performance and scored two very good goals. We're ready for the League now."
RANGERS McGregor; Broadfoot, Weir, Bougherra, Papac (Wylde 62); Naismith (Velicka 80), Edu, Davis (Hutton 80), McCulloch (Shinnie 69), Whittaker; Miller (Lafferty 62)
UNUSED SUBS McMillan, Alexander, Little, Campbell
NEWCASTLE UNITED Harper; Perch (Taverner 80), Williamson, Coloccini (Ferguson 81), Sanchez (Taylor 55); Routledge (Xisco 81), Barton, Guthrie, Gutierrez (Lovenkrands 68); Nolan, Carroll (Ameobi 45)
UNUSED SUBS Krul
REFEREE Dougie McDonald