Rangers and St Johnstone have been unable to make a breakthrough in a goalless opening 45 minutes in their Scottish League Cup quarter-final clash.

Both sides fought for superiority early on as chances proved to be difficult to come by, with Kenny Miller unable to hit the target with an acrobatic effort from a Fraser Aird cross.

An impressive run from Lewis Macleod created a great opportunity for Rangers as he led a break before releasing Kris Boyd, whose low effort was pushed to safety by Alan Mannus.

The battle would play out in the middle of the pitch for the majority of the first half as a lack of quality in attacking areas ensured the two sets of defenders were rarely troubled.

A difficult chance fell to Lee Wallace before the break, but the Rangers full-back could only send his strike sailing over the crossbar from the edge of the box.

St Johnstone should have broken the deadlock with their first chance of the match, but the game would remain goalless heading into the interval after Frazer Wright headed over from close range.