with a 2-0 win over Hibernian at Ibrox this afternoon
- finally laying the bogey that the Easter Road side
has become this season, having won all three previous
fixtures.
The victory should put the Light Blues in good heart
for Wednesday's crucial Champions' League fixture with
Villarreal.
Rangers had gone all of 303 minutes without a solitary
goal to show for their efforts prior to today, a
period which of course incorporates the last three
abominable displays
Manager Alex McLeish made three changes from the 'Old
Firm' debacle with Brahim Hemdani, Julien Rodriguez
and Kris Boyd replacing Marvin Andrews, Bob Malcolm
and Nacho Novo whilst the visitors showed two
alterations from the Scottish Cup-tie with Paul
Dalglish and Stephen Glass coming in for Scott Brown
and Steven Fletcher.
It would be the return of Messrs Hemdani and Rodriguez
that made all the difference - their assured and
professional performances spreading throughout the
team.
Rangers, who have suffered at the hands of the Leith
side due to an inability to convert chances and a
vulnerability to the counter-attack twice before at
Ibrox, were all out from the opening seconds to secure
the vital opener - with Thomas Buffel heading wide
from a Steven Smith cross in seven minutes.
Four minutes later Boyd was inches away from
connecting with a Dado Prso chip.
Hibs were far from onlookers however - Stephen Glass
seeing his volley held by Ronald Waterreus after Gary
Caldwell's cross had been missed by Sotirios Kyrgiakos
in sixteen minutes.
The traffic was still mostly towards Simon Brown's
goal however - a Rodriguez drive from a Chris Burke
corner being just over four minutes later.
Burke was in dazzling form - one mazy run in 23
minutes ended with a cross that the inrushing Boyd
failed to connect with by a mere inches, then ten
minutes later the winger's corner found Kyrgiakos
whose chip was inches wide.
Thus far, the game was a rerun of Hibernian's two
earlier visits to the Stadium - and 49,720 spectators
held their collective breaths in 34 minutes when the
pacy Ulsterman Ivan Sproule, the hat-trick hero of 27
August, went clear on a Kevin Thomson pass only to see
his shot cleared off the line by the backtracking
Kyrgiakos.
The resultant Thomson corner found the head of
Caldwell whose effort was headed off the line by
Burke.
The defining moment of the match had just occurred -
for four minutes later Rangers opened the scoring when
Boyd stabbed home a Burke cross after the winger had
embarked on a trademark mazy run.
It was almost 2-0 in 41 minutes when Alan Hutton's
forty-yard drive flashed inches over.
Rangers restarted in search of a second, clinching
goal - with Prso striking the post with a twenty-yard
shot sixty seconds after the restart.
Hibs' goalkeeper Simon Brown had to be alert to keep
out a header from his own man Chris Hogg in 47 minutes
from a Smith cross.
Rangers had a strong penalty claim denied by Referee
Iain Brines in 58 minutes when Prso's header was
handled by Caldwell.
Sixty seconds later the first yellow card of the
afternoon arrived when Caldwell was booked for a foul
on Prso - it was long overdue, as the central defender
had been guilty of a whole series of infringements.
Clearly he will be right at home in Celtic colours
next season.
Tony Mowbray had gone for broke with the introduction
of one-time Ibrox target Derek Riordan on the hour -
but in a swift counter-attack sixty seconds later
Burke ran half the length of the park only to slice
his shot wide of the target.
Rangers were in control of the game - and Boyd almost
added a second in 64 minutes when his shot on the turn
from a Barry Ferguson pass was blocked by Brown.
Nine minutes later it was 2-0 when the Ibrox Captain
found the net with an eighteen-yard left-foot volley
following a Burke corner that was played short to
Hutton, then to Hemdani, whose chip into the goalmouth
was only partially cleared as far as Ferguson.
Gavin Rae made a welcome return from a two-year injury
absence in 76 minutes, replacing the effective Hemdani
who received a standing ovation as he left the field.
Six minutes later Thomas Buffel was just wide with an
eighteen-yard shot, but Rangers played out time
comfortably to record their first win over the Easter
Road side since that glorious day in Leith on 22 May
2005.
Afterwards a relieved Alex McLeish reflected:
"It was a good performance against a dangerous team.
This was an important win - the players were under
pressure. I needed to change things after three
defeats."
Hibernian Manager Tony Mowbray was honest enough to
admit:
"We had our chances, but I have no complaints. The
first goal controlled the game. Rangers are a
Champions' League team - we have no divine right to
come here and win. They were better than us all over
the pitch."
RANGERS Waterreus; Hutton, Kyrgiakos, Rodriguez,
Smith; Burke, Ferguson, Hemdani (G. Rae 76), Buffel;
Prso, Boyd
UNUSED SUBS Andrews, Novo, Murray, Namouchi, Klos,
Lovenkrands
HIBERNIAN Simon Brown; Whittaker, Caldwell, Hogg,
Murphy; Dalglish (Fletcher 57), Stewart, Thomson
(Riordan 60), Glass; O'Connor (Konte 82), Sproule
UNUSED SUBS Smith, Shields, Malkowski, Konde
REFEREE Iain Brines
Attendance 49,720