There may have been only one goal in it, but Rangers bowed out of the Carling Cup without ever suggesting they might cause an upset against Man United at Old Trafford.
They were up against a decidedly second-string United, with no Rooney, Berbatov or Ronaldo to trouble them. But it was at the other end that Rangers failed to make an impression - only really mustering a dangerous attack and shot at goal in injury time.
Emmanuel Ledesma sent a low shot just wide of the post after a superb counter-attack led by Patrick Agyemang down the left flank as the Rs finally threw off the shackles. But it was nowhere near enough.
Carlos Tevez netted the winner from the penalty spot in the 76th minute after Peter Ramage had tripped United sub Danny Welbeck - and the Argentinian striker was easily the home side's most impressive player.
Radek Cerny had an excellent night between the sticks, handling the ball well in slippery conditions and confidently dealing with a barrage of mostly long-range shots.
But he could do nothing about the spot-kick, diving to his right as Tevez calmly rolled the ball to the keeper's left.
Caretaker boss Gareth Ainsworth declared himself proud and satisfied at the end - happy that his hard-working side had restricted the number of clear-cut chances for United.
But his side arguably missed an opportunity to make life more difficult for the Reds, who fielded sqaud players Darron Gibson, Jonathan Evans and Rodrigo Possebon - fine players who should nevertheless have been placed under greater pressure by an experienced Rangers team.
United dominated possession throughout and Rangers did not get forward in numbers as they had done in winning at Aston Villa in the previos round.
