This must have felt like a largely fruitless journey for the Panathinaikos scout dispatched to cast an eye over Rangers before the teams’ crucial Champions League reunion on Wednesday night. Russell Martin’s side head into that contest buoyed by the strength of their second-half midweek performance against the Greeks that yielded two goals and a decent first-leg advantage. Rather than trying to maintain that momentum, however, Martin elected to take a more cautious approach in this friendly warm-up against Middlesbrough, completely altering the starting line-up and giving those who will likely feature in Athens all or the majority of the afternoon off to put their feet up. Just two of Rangers’ summer signings featured from the start, midweek goal hero Djeidi Gassama and defender Emmanuel Fernandez, while John Souttar, Joe Rothwell and Hamza Igamane were among those excused duty altogether. With Robin Propper shipped back to FC Twente earlier in the day, youngster Zander Hutton started alongside Fernandez in a makeshift backline, with Bailey Rice filling that role at the start of the second half. This was all about protecting the key players rather than risking unnecessary injuries but it also presented an opportunity for those on the fringes to stake a last-minute claim for Champions League inclusion. Few, however, took it. Rather than playing their way into contention, most of those involved in the first hour here played their way out of it. There was a rare sighting of Oscar Cortes, initially in an unfamiliar right wing-back role where he looked far more comfortable motoring forward than tracking back, before a half-time tactical switch spared him any more defensive responsibilities. Rangers were obliged to shell out £4.5m to sign Cortes this summer after an underwhelming loan spell last year where he spent more time in the treatment room than on the pitch. There were a few glimpses of his capabilities here but the 21-year-old remains a player with a lot to prove. Rangers were two goals down by the time Martin turned to his bench on the hour mark to make seven changes, getting minutes into the legs of those expected to start in Greece. The switch injected greater vibrancy into the performance, with Max Aarons crossing for fellow replacement Danilo to glance in a header before Findlay Curtis bundled in an equaliser after a header from Nicolas Raskin had been repelled. There were also a few anxious moments when Raskin and then Danilo were upended by a pair of hefty challenges, although both were able to continue. It was symptomatic of the energetic manner in which their opponents had approached the game all afternoon. Middlesbrough are preparing for a ninth season outside of the English top tier but they remain a big noise in the north-east as the size of their travelling support here underlined, a 7000-strong sea of red that filled most of the Broomloan stand. Boro don’t return to competitive action until August 9 but there was no rust evident as they played with an edge and verve badly missing in most of Rangers’ work in the early stages. Boro scored after just nine minutes after Rangers failed to defend a simple corner into their box allowing Neto Borges – a late call-up to their starting XI – to poke a shot beyond Liam Kelly. Fernandez, a £2.5m recruit from Peterborough charged with stiffening up the Rangers backline, did not cover himself in glory trying to deal with it. Boro continued to pile on the pressure as Rangers wobbled, with Scotland striker Tommy Conway a lively presence at the apex of their attack. With their hosts creating little and denied a penalty by referee John Beaton for what looked like an obvious handball - Martin was sent off at half-time for querying the non-award - Middlesbrough doubled their lead when Dael Fry squeezed in a shot at the back post at the second time of asking. Then came the cavalry to dig Rangers out of a hole and bolster the feelgood factor ahead of the mission to Athens. Rangers had warned their supporters beforehand that “a busy road network is anticipated due to the visit of the US President”. There was no sighting here of Donald Trump, although given the pro-US sentiment prevalent at Ibrox these days this would have been one of the few places where this particular orange man would likely have received a warm welcome during his visit to Scotland. Rather, it is Martin who has been charged with trying to Make Rangers Great Again and, if he can avoid defeat again on Wednesday, it will represent a promising start.