24 mins Shepherded by Wayne Routledge out on the left touchline and facing towards his own goal, Steven Whittaker stepped infield to deliver a superb right footed cross towards Steve Harper's near post. The ball flew past Mike Williamson and was met by Kenny Miller on the run, who headed home from six yards and left Fabricio Coloccini a spectator 0-1

Half time: Rangers 1 Magpies 0

65 mins Nolan's loss of possession in midfield proved costly, as Steven Davis pushed on towards the Newcastle goal down the centre of the field. Kyle Lafferty made an offside run ahead of him, but Davis pushed the ball out to his right, to where Steven Naismith had taken advantage of Perch's absence to make a well-timed run. With Jonas Gutierrez making a vain attempt to keep up with him, he ran on and stroked the ball past Harper from nine yards.  0-2

70 mins Danny Guthrie drove United forward and fed a short pass to Kevin Nolan, who played a one two with Shola Ameobi. Receiving the ball back in space on the right hand side of the Rangers box in front of the away section, Nolan saw his shot parried by Allan McGregor. The rebound fell nicely for Peter Lovenkrands to knock it into the unguarded net from close range at the far post  1-2

Full time: Rangers 2 Magpies 1

Newcastle manager Chris Hughton said:

"Do I think we are ready? Well we have to be now and I think we are. We don’t like losing, but I don’t think we are any different to some of the other clubs in the Premier League.

"They have had results that have gone against them in pre-season – even the bigger clubs. I am quite sure they will be ready for the start of the season and I am quite sure we will be too.

"What I have said to this group of lads is they are all playing for starting places. They are all still fighting, but if you look at our squad and what we have – that is the nucleus of our starting line-up for certain.

"It's never a nice feeling losing football matches, especially this close to the start of the season, but there were far more positives from the performance than negatives. We have conceded two goals in a game where I thought Rangers' possession at times didn't threaten us as much as we thought they would. But in the areas where it matters most, we weren't clinical."

Peter Lovenkrands added:

"The reception I got, I couldn't have asked for more than that. It was outstanding, and the home fans and the away fans were fantastic. I was disappointed with the result, but happy to get my goal - especially at Ibrox. It was a nice feeling.

"To see the ball landing there is a striker's dream, and it was just about putting it in the net and enjoying the feeling. I didn't feel like running about like mad and celebrating. I had six amazing years here so I had the respect to just be quiet about it and enjoy it inside.

“I made the most of it. After the reception the Rangers fans gave me, I had to show my appreciation for it. It was fantastic and I couldn’t have asked for more. That’s why I wanted to show my appreciation. There wasn’t a proper goodbye when I left Rangers in 2006. I have always thought about that and felt it would have been nice to have had one. 

"Coming back here meant a lot to me from the moment I knew we had this fixture. To come back, and been here and done it was a fantastic experience. My six years were fantastic and it was a fantastic club to be at. Financially at that time it was not as bad. Now there are tough times. It’s even been tough times for Newcastle, so it happens everywhere. I really hope Rangers get through it. They seem to be coping really well.

"This game was still all about getting the minutes behind you and getting your fitness in, and also of course to play good football. I think we played quite well at times, but lost two slack goals and you can't afford to do that, especially when the Premier League starts. That's going to hurt you, but if we can get that sorted out I think we're looking alright."

Newcastle ended their pre-season campaign on Saturday with defeat in the blue half of Glasgow, with a scoreline and performance that gave their sizeable travelling support much to ponder, ahead of the proper stuff.

Having dominated the first quarter of the game without fashioning a decent chance, United then succumbed to a sucker punch when the home side attacked down the left and Kenny Miller headed past Steve Harper.

Playing with Andy Carroll as the lone striker, Newcastle fared slightly better after the break when he was replaced by Shola Ameobi. However the lack of service from wide men Wayne Routledge and Jonas Gutierrez remained unchanged, while set pieces were again substandard.

Rangers doubled their lead through Steven Naismith following a Nolan rick, which prompted another change for the visitors. The home crowd gave Ibrox old boy Peter Lovenkrands a great reception when he replaced Jonas, only for him to promptly reduce the arrears from close range with his first touch - opting not to celebrate.

However McGregor denied both Lovenkrands and Nolan soon after and the game gradually faded away, leaving Chris Hughton with much thinking to do ahead of his sides' top-flight return at Old Trafford on Monday week.

Already missing Danny Simpson and Steven Taylor from his defence - and with Sol Campbell not yet match-fit - the Magpies boss may also have a concern over Jose Enrique. He came off early in the second half and was followed down the tunnel by physio Derek Wright. That resulted in the arrival of Ryan Taylor, who went to right back as James Perch took up an unfamiliar left back role.

Of equal concern to him though was the lack of a spark from his midfield, with Joey Barton looking less than 100% and Nolan struggling in an advanced role before the break. Self-confessed Rangers fan Alan Smith meanwhile didn't appear after sustaining what was called a minor injury.

United's five game pre-season campaign ended with just one win in normal time - at Carlisle. Draws were claimed against PSV and Deportivo La Coruna (with the latter seeing Newcastle win a penalty shootout). Defeats came against Norwich and Rangers and a total of seven goals were scored - all of them in the second half of games. 

Biffa