Boyd 100 not out for Rangers

Rangers assistant coach Ally McCoist heaped praise on striker Kris Boyd after his 100th goal for the club helped them earn a place in the Scottish Cup final with a 3-0 win over St Mirren.

Boyd was on target in the second half to notch up a century of strikes for the Ibrox club in just 146 appearances since he joined his boyhood heroes in January 2006 from Kilmarnock.

He became the fastest person to get to 100 goals for Rangers since 1960s star Jim Forrest and the first since Mark Hateley in 1994.

The lethal marksman’s achievement is rendered even more remarkable by the fact he has only started 110 games for the Old Firm giants.

Boyd still has some way to go if he is to catch McCoist’s record total of 355 goals for the club, but the legendary goal-scorer, now assistant to Walter Smith, said Boyd’s feat deserved recognition.

“It’s a fantastic achievement, it really is. We just gave him a special mention in the dressing room there,” McCoist said.

“Kris deserved a special congratulations for scoring his 100th goal. It is a wonderful achievement when you look at the games he’s played.

“It’s the hardest job in football, in my opinion, to put the ball in the back of the net and he does it very, very well.

“I felt he played well today. He got a very important goal for us. Kris and I had a chat at half-time and I said to him he would earn his chances with the way he was playing. I was delighted with him today and he deserved his goal.”

But Boyd might never have got to 100 for Rangers if the club had offloaded him in the January transfer window.

The striker was the subject of a 3million pound bid from Birmingham City and the player looked to be on his way before the deal collapsed when he couldn’t agree terms with the Midlands club.

McCoist said he was glad the speculation surrounding Boyd hadn’t affected his game and praised the 25-year-old’s attitude.

“All I can say is that since the Birmingham thing his attitude has been first-class. He has come into training and worked hard,” McCoist said.

“When you look at Kris, all he wants to do is play and score goals and win games. Hopefully that can continue and it certainly looks that way at the moment. He deserves all the plaudits that are coming his way at the present time.”

At Hampden Park on Saturday, Andrius Velicka gave Rangers the lead in the second minute when he poked the ball home from six yards out, before Boyd calmly slotted past Mark Howard after good work from man-of-the-match Steven Davis.

Kenny Miller, on as a second-half substitute for Velicka, then volleyed home the third as the Ibrox side eased their way to a May 30 meeting with either Falkirk or Dunfermline, who contest the other semi-final on Sunday.

The Ibrox club, who have won the trophy 32 times, will be making their 51st appearance in the Scottish Cup final.