Rangers 1 Cowdenbeath 0

Dean Shiels relieved some of the pressure on under-fire boss Ally McCoist as his second-half winner handed Rangers a narrow 1-0 win over Cowdenbeath at Ibrox. The vultures have been circling McCoist ever since his side slumped to a shock 3-2 defeat to part-time Alloa on Wednesday. But while his side again looked anything but assertive, Shiels' 58th-minute strike did hand the manager some much-needed breathing space. McCoist can still feel the sting of the Wasps' Petrofac Training Cup semi-final but he has already insisted he will not walk away from the job until he leads the Glasgow giants back to the Scottish Premiership. But the fans who once idolised him during his days as a record-breaking frontman are quickly losing faith in his management. That was evident by the size of the 28,137 crowd - the lowest league attendance at Ibrox since Greame Souness was just starting to make his mark as Gers boss in December 1986. Despite such a woeful performance in midweek, McCoist made just one change for Cowden's first league visit to Ibrox since September 1970 - and even that was enforced as Shiels replaced the injured Lewis Macleod. Rangers had plenty of decent possession in the first half but failed to make the most of it as time and again the final ball let them down. The first time they got in behind the Fifers was after 11 minutes but Shiels arrived too late to connect with a low cross swept in by Kenny Miller. When they did carve Cowdenbeath open, the men in blue seemed to suffer a collective rush of blood to the head. Miller's cushioned cut-back into the danger zone seemed perfect for Kris Boyd, but the striker got the ball caught under his feet. When it squirmed out to Sheils, he crashed it onto the post when he should have netted. Miller was in again moments later but tried to be unselfish and square for Boyd. His generosity, though, only allowed Nat Wedderburn time to recover and then clear the danger. It was becoming another ragged display and the Ibrox crowd responded with an angry groan. A faint chant of Super Ally'' could be heard faintly from one corner of the ground - but it was the one housing the Blue Brazil's supporters. The groans developed into outright jeers as the home team trudged off at the interval. But within 13 minutes of the second period starting, Shiels finally gave the Gers faithful something to cheer. A chipped ball by Richard Foster up for Miller was nodded down perfectly into Shiels' path. The former Kilmarnock forward took a touch to set himself and then calmly rolled the ball past visiting keeper Robbie Thomson for the opener. While Shiels was enjoying his first start since the end of September, Boyd was having another afternoon to forget. He had snatched at a couple of chances in the first period then missed an even easier one as Shiels sent him through on goal, mishitting the ball when he had just Thomson to beat. And he bore a frustrated look as he was replaced by Jon Daly with 22 minutes left. By then, a deflated atmosphere had fallen over the stadium. But Darren McGregor had to act decisively to prevent another outburst of fury from the Rangers fans as he beat Sean Higgins to a header just as it looked like the Cowden striker was shaping to score. Miller was presented with his big chance to score as Foster picked him out in the box. But he needed an extra touch and found himself crowded out by Wedderburn again. Rangers should have added to their lead in the final few moments. Daly, though, headed over the bar, while Nicky Clark saw Thomson pull off a fine save with the last kick of the game.