RANGERS will need to add one more game to their already congested fixture list after tonight's disappointing 1-1 draw against Partick Thistle in the quarter-final stage of the Scottish Cup.

In what was a hugely frustrating night for Walter Smith's men, Damon Gray gave the Jags a shock lead on 66 minutes but Kris Boyd was to save the day minutes later when he bundled the ball home in front of the Copland Road Stand.

For the 2500 Thistle fans this was a night to remember but for Rangers it was one to forget as too many players simply did not hit top gear. 

It was suggested that Walter Smith would field several fringe players for tonight's clash but this was no the case with the gaffer naming a strong starting eleven.

Kris Boyd was, not surprisingly, drafted back in after Sunday's CIS Cup final heroics at Hampden.

His reward was a place in the first XI for tonight's meeting against Ian McCall's men and he was joined up front by Nacho Novo.

In fact, Smith has made six changes to the team which finally emerged victorious at the weekend against the Arabs.

With his men facing such a chaotic schedule, he was forced to rotate his squad with Steven Whittaker, Steven Naismith, Kevin Thomson and Charlie Adam have all back in.

Lee McCulloch and Chris Burke dropped to the bench while Barry Ferguson, who was sorely missed, Sasa Papac, David Weir and Brahim Hemdani were all rested.

A notable inclusion on the substitute's bench was Steven Smith, who was stripped and in the squad for the first time for more than 15 months although he did not make an appearance.

The gaffer elected to make Carlos Cuellar his stand-in skipper for tonight's game, a fitting gesture after the Spaniards outstanding season to date and once again he was named man-of-the-match after the final whistle tonight. 

The opening stages of the match went according to plan with Rangers enjoying plenty of possession in a bid to grind their opponents down.

During the opening ten minutes Nacho Novo tried his luck with a 30-yard shot which narrowly missed the target while Boyd perhaps should have done better when Naismith crossed from the right and the striker's header from six yards finished up in the stands.

Thistle, meanwhile, showed that they did not just turn up to to spectate and Scott Chaplain was given space and time to hit a shot which was well wide of Allan McGregor's goal on 16 minutes.

On 26 minutes the impressive Gray, who is on-loan from Hibs, was found unmarked on the right wing and his low drive across goal had to be palmed around the post by McGregor for a corner.

Only minutes later the ball was back up the park and when Broadfoot was hauled down on the edge of the 18-yard box it was all set-up for Adam to deliver but his free-kick hit the wall and was cleared to safety.

Charlie was again in the think of things before the half-hour mark when a deflected Novo cross fell into his path but his left-foot drive was skewed well wide.

It was not the best of halves for the Gers' No. 11 who was to then endure a verbal volley from assistant boss Ally McCoist for not tracking back.

To be fair Adam was not the worst player on the pitch for Rangers in a first-half which failed to live up to expectations.

Smith would not have liked what he saw but he stuck by the same eleven players for the restart.

Almost immediately the Gers' stars looked to have more purpose and put Tuffey under sustained pressure for the opening five minutes of the second period.

Christian Dailly even popped up on the left wing and produced a bit of skill which his attacking colleagues would have been proud of before his in-swinging cross was cleared.

The Light Blues continued to push forward in search of an opening goal and Naismith came within inches when he rose to meet a Kevin Thomson cross but his header clipped the crossbar.

Only seconds later the home side made their first substitution with Chris Burke replacing Adam on 56 min.

The most bizarre moment of the night, however, came just after the hour mark when referee Iain Brines walked tentatively to the touchline clutching his shoulder.

Play was held up as Rangers' doc Paul Jackson attended to the official who then returned to his duties.

On 67 minutes, however, distaster struck as Partick Thistle went a goal up through slack defending.

The ball was cleverly fed through to Damon Gray who showed great composure to slot the ball off Allan McGregor's far post and in to the net.

The goal brought the game alive and the Light Blues were to draw level only two minutes later.

 Boyd was back doing what he does best when he barged the ball into the net after a goalmouth scramble.

It was not a surprise to see the Gers' No. 9 come to Rangers' rescue but his team could not build on the equaliser and struggled to break down a stubborn Thistle backline that was well marshalled by the experienced Alan Archibald.

Lee McCulloch was introduced to the game in place of Steven Naismith with 20 minutes left to play but the Scotland international could not stamp his authority on proceedings in his short space of time on the pitch.

In the end Thistle deserve great credit for their effort and endeavour throughout this cup tie but it was to be a hugely disappointing night for Rangers with too many players underperforming.

The night was summed up in the final minute when Burke found space on the right wing and when he crossed ino a dangerous area Novo missed the ball entirely 15 yards from goal.

Another replay will now take place in the near future at Firhill, the last thing Smith and his players would have wanted at this stage of the campaign.

Man of the Match - Carlos Cuellar. Stand-in skipper was again a rock at the back and tried to drive his teammates forward throughout the 90 minutes.