Source: Team_Talk
Novo thrilled with winning strike
Novo, who has struggled to hold down a starting place at Ibrox, scored a stunning 30-yard volley just 29 seconds after his half-time introduction this afternoon.
"If I'm honest, I couldn't even see it. It passed so quickly," Novo told BBC Radio Scotland.
"I never saw it but I'm quite pleased for the goal. This was a really hard time for me.
"This will keep me going and looking forward to next season."
Novo applauded the performance of Falkirk, who more than matched Rangers for the majority of the game.
The Spaniard said: "It's a team which always plays really good football and tries to play football, and a really good manager as well.
"They've been a really difficult side for us but I'm quite pleased for us as well to win it."
Manager Walter Smith, who delegates much of his authority to assistant Ally McCoist for cup games, said: "It was always going to be a difficult match for us today the way Falkirk set out their team.
"Today, we never reached the levels we did do last week.
"The goal from Nacho Novo was terrific for us."
Smith admitted Rangers might have suffered a bit of a hangover after winning their first league title for four years last weekend.
"It was going to be a bit of a struggle to get everybody back up from that fantastic effort from us last week," said Smith, who refused to speculate on the future of midfielder Barry Ferguson.
"I think you could see the game did take its toll."
McCoist also applauded Falkirk's performance. He told BBC1 Scotland: "I think they made difficult for us throughout the game.
"They didn't have a lot of chances at our goal and they only hit the post at the end there. I think Neil McCann hit the bar in the first half.
"I think overall we're just delighted to get the win. I'm chuffed to bits for the team."
Captain David Weir acknowledged Falkirk's first-half superiority.
"We were poor, they were very good," the defender told BBC Radio Scotland.
"What we were doing wasn't working so the manager made a decision and that's what he's good at."
Of lifting the cup as skipper, Weir added: "It's a dream come true, it really is, and I'm going to enjoy every minute."
Falkirk boss John Hughes was proud of his players. He said: "All credit to them, they gave it a go. I think you know that with the fans staying behind.
"I'm so proud of them, I really am."
He added: "My game plan was to keep the ball, ball-retention,
taking our time.
"I said at half-time, we could've done it a lot quicker and we
were giving them plenty of chance to get back behind the ball.
"I said at half-time, 'Make sure we keep it tight for 20 minutes'.
"And one minute into the second half, bang."
