Falkirk boss John McGlynn backs forward to score goals after missing key chances during Rangers defeat.

Falkirk boss John McGlynn has backed forward Jacob Murrell to find his goalscoring form after the former DC United missed a couple of glorious chances against Rangers on Wednesday night.

The Bairns, much like last weekend away to champions Celtic, put on a strong showing but lacked a clinical edge in attack. Up the other end, Lawrence Shankland was the difference-maker for Derek McInnes’ side - with two fine finishes securing a 2-1 victory for the Ibrox club.

Falkirk got off the the worst possible start when Shankland fired home on the turn after seven minutes. A quick move from the visitors wasn’t defended well enough, and the Scotland striker was given too much space to position himself.

The Bairns did grab a leveller on the stroke of half time when a incisive counter-attack ended in a Kosta Nedeljkovic's own goal. The defender turned home a Ethan Ross cross, and that gave McGlynn’s side a lift after the break. They enjoyed a strong spell but they couldn’t make it count.

US forward Murrell missed two superb opportunities. The first came after 50 minutes, with winger Ross setting him up in the middle of the goal. He was then sent through one-on-one ten minutes later when Emmanuel Fernandez mishit a pass across his backline, but he snatched at his chance.

And Falkirk’s wastefulness in front of goal came back to haunt them when Shankland made it 2-1 with 11 minutes remaining. It was a trademark finish, with substitute Ross McCrorie playing his part with a neat touch to set up the forward - who angled the ball past Scott Bain.

Falkirk may now be winless after four Scottish Premiership outings but manager McGlynn isn’t hitting the panic button yet after seeing green shoots from the previous three fixtures.

John McGlynn positive after Rangers defeat

After the Rangers loss, he said: “We probably deserved something from the last two games. But we don't want to be that team who can play nice football and be attractive but continually come away with nothing. We need to start turning that into wins.

“We've had two great opportunities in the second half that could have seen us go 3-1 up. Lawrence (Shankland) has a habit of scoring against us. If you give him any space in the box he will punish you.

“We steadied the ship after that first goal, passed the ball well and worked our way back into the match. They hit the post but we showed our style. We worked out way back into the game and managed to get the goal before half time.

That gave us some encouragement. And I thought for 30 minutes of the second half we were the better team. There’s two great chances for us, one coming from Rangers’ slackness at the back. We knew that would happen.”

Murrell was on the wrong side of the big moments but McGlynn backed the striker to come good on the goalscoring front. The boss likened his situation to that of his new-look team in general - who are still finding their feet.

He added: “We had to bury that chance. And Ethan Ross’ ball across for Jacob was another big one too. But it is a similar situation to the team in general. He just needs one goal and he’ll kick on from that. It’s a new ball game for him coming to Scottish football. And it was a baptism of fire with Celtic and then Rangers.

“But the attitude's great, the work ethic's great, from all of them. We've played the big two teams in the country back to back. Tonight was a good team performance, the guys are fighting for each other. The difference was Lawrence Shankland. You put him in a navy blue jersey and we would have won.”

Meanwhile, the manager that confirmed that a 17th summer signing will be joining the Bairns before the end of the transfer window on Friday at 5pm.