and emphatic 3-0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle
this afternoon, the winning margin being the greatest
achieved by the Ibrox men over their Highland
opponents since Caley achieved promotion to the top
division.
Manager Walter Smith made two changes from Tuesday
with Kevin Thomson and DaMarcus Beasley replacing
Charlie Adam and Jean-Claude Darcheville.
A swirling and blustery wind meant conditions were far
from ideal for the lunch-time kick-off, but Rangers
took the game to their opponents from the opening
seconds.
Carlos Cuellar tested home goalkeeper Fraser with a
header from a Kevin Thomson cross in ten minutes, but
the opening goal duly arrived seven minutes later when
Barry Ferguson found the net from eighteen yards from
a Lee McCulloch cross.
Sixty seconds later it was almost two when Lee
McCulloch's header from a Beasley cross landed on the
roof of the net.
It was one-way traffic - Kris Boyd, through on a
Ferguson pass on the half-hour mark, saw his low drive
deflected onto the crossbar by Fraser.
Rangers went all out for a second goal as the interval
approached - Beasley, released by Ferguso's crossfield
pass, was denied by Fraser in 43 minutes then the
Ibrox Captain was himself fed by Thomson only to see
his effort deflected wide.
At half-time, the feeling amongst the ground record
7,711 crowd was that Rangers should have been further
ahead.
Nach Novo replaced Boyd three minutes after the
restart - and it was the substitute who bulleted home
the second goal in 63 minutes when he took possession
of Lee McCulloch's square ball following a lightning
break by the visitors.
Three minutes later the game threatened to explode
when Beasley was felled off the ball by Ross Tokely.
Referee Kenny Clark completely missed the incident -
but was obliged to speak to Walter Smith following the
Rangers Manager's protestations.
Accidental clash or otherwise, Rangers were now
coasting - and Ferguson coolly made it 3-0 in 89
minutes when he took advantage of Tokely's miss-timed
back-header to chip the ball home.
A contented Walter Smith afterwards reflected:
"I was pleased with the win. The conditions were
difficult because of the wind. We played much better
today and showed greater work effort and greater
resilience than in the past."
INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE Fraser; Tokely,
McCaffrey, Munro, Hastings; Wilson, McBain (Hart 69),
Black, Rankin (McDonald 76); McAllister (Cowie 62),
Wyness
UNUSED SUBS Ridgers, Morgan, Duncan, Sutherland
RANGERS McGregor; Hutton, Weir, Cuellar, Papac;
McCulloch, Ferguson, Hemdani, Thomson, Beasley; Boyd
(Novo 48)
UNUSED SUBS Broadfoot, Carroll, Darcheville, Lennon,
Kinniburgh, McMillan
REFEREE Kenny Clark
Attendance 7,711