DARRYL BROADFOOT and GRAEME MACPHERSON

Walter Smith's joy at reaching his first final second time around was tempered by the suspension of Charlie Adam. The midfielder was booked by Mike McCurry during last night's 2-0 win over Hearts, unfairly according to the Rangers manager.

Adam was cautioned despite being on the receiving end of a robust tackle from Robbie Neilson. He also picked up a booking in the third round tie against East Fife and will now miss the final against Aberdeen or Dundee United.

"Of all the bookings, that one was the most difficult to understand and I am disappointed for him Adam," said Smith. "He had the opportunity to foul badly and didn't, he could have gone over the ball but instead was extremely fair. If anything, he was the victim of the challenge."

Smith also confirmed the acquisition of Neil Alexander and Christian Dailly, and did not rule out one more signing before this evening's deadline.

"I do not know, I think so but you can never tell," said Smith, evasively, when asked if he will spend some of the £9m raised by the sale of Alan Hutton to Tottenham Hotspur.

Smith maintained Rangers merited last night's win, despite Steven Frail, Hearts caretaker head coach, claiming McCurry's failure to spot Ferguson's hand ball cost his side the game.

"Hearts were strong but I felt we deserved to win," Smith said. "We had to impress ourselves and I felt we played some good football after we did that.

We have a new squad and it is always pleasing to get to your first final with that group."

Hearts were graced with a rare visit from their majority shareholder, Vladimir Romanov, but left Hampden aggrieved at McCurry and their own squandered opportunities.

"It was definitely handball," said Frail of the precursor to Ferguson's opener. "It was not intentional but it changed the direction of the ball in his favour and allowed him to swivel. It was still a great finish, and he still had a lot to do, but it changed the course of the game."

Christophe Berra, the Hearts captain, echoed those thoughts. The youngster expressed his disappointment at the decision not to chop off the goal on the grounds that a Hearts player had similarly handled the ball in the build-up. Jose Goncalves was the first offender, his handball in the area overlooked as Rangers appealed for a penalty. McCurry dismissed the protests on the grounds one offence had cancelled out the other.

Berra said: "Some decisions have gone against us. Sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't. I didn't see the handball but the boys who weren't stripped saw it on the TV and said it was. The ref said that if that was a handball then Jose's was too but two wrongs don't make a right.

"Rangers, overall, maybe played the better football and you've just got to take it on the chin. We can't have sour grapes. We need to move on and concentrate on the league."

Berra's mood was contrasted by Darcheville, who scored on his first Hampden appearance. Winning the final is the Frenchman's next target.

"It will be my first final but I don't think it will be my last," he said. "I think the pitch made it difficult but now we have a good chance to win the cup. I know that Rangers have been waiting more than two years to win a trophy, now everybody has a good chance to win one."

Darcheville, who also felt he should have had a first-half penalty, expressed joy at his goal. "It was my first goal in the national stadium but I don't think it will be my last. We shall see what happens in the final.

I am very happy for my goal but I think I can also score in the final."