Manager Alex McLeish made two changes from the side
that overwhelmed Dundee on Saturday with Bob Malcolm
and Michael Mols replacing Craig Moore and Steven
Thompson against a side containing three former
Rangers’ players in the shape of Greg Shields, Scott
Wilson and Barry Nicholson.
Rangers got off to a dream start when Allan Hutton
headed home a Ronald De Boer corner in the first
minute. It was a dream start for the youngster,
netting his first goal for the club.
Nine minutes later it was 2-0 when Peter Lovenkrands
netted with a superb eighteen-yard volley following a
one-two with Gavin Rae.
The 47,487 spectators were relishing this dynamic
start from the Champions, and Lovenkrands came close
to making it three in nineteen minutes with a shot on
the turn following a Stephen Hughes knockdown from a
Rae cross.
Within sixty seconds however the deficit had been
reduced when a Nicholson cross from the right found
Andy Tod unmarked at the far post, his header leaving
Stefan Klos without an earthly.
Rangers re-established their two-goal advantage in 25
minutes with a superb curling shot from Ronald De Boer
from fifteen yards following a mazy Lovenkrands run
and Hughes lay-off.
The home side were rampant now – two minutes later it
was 4-1 when Michael Mols exhibited a classic turn and
shot from a Ronald De Boer pass.
Ronald’s skill, movement and running off the ball were
at the heart of virtually every Ibrox attack,
underlining just exactly what the Champions have been
missing for so much of this season. On the half-hour
his superb pass released Mols only for the parting
shot to be deflected wide by Pars’ goalkeeper Derek
Stillie’s legs.
This was the finest display by a Rangers team for
perhaps six months, with both De Boer twins
underlining their true world class with supreme skill
and vision.
Rangers might have added to their lead before the
interval – firstly in 41 minutes when a Hughes cross
flashed across the face of goal with the inrushing
Zurab Khizanishvili and Michael Mols inches away, then
a Mols header from a Hutton cross inched just wide of
the target.
Tonight’s match fell on the ninth anniversary of the
death of Light Blue legend Davie Cooper, and with the
‘Gers fans having sung his praises during the
first-half a video tribute was shown on the giant
screens during the break just to add a touch of
nostalgia to the evening.
Almost inevitably the second-half was very much an
anti-climax – partly due to the fact that the superb
Ronald De Boer had been substituted at half-time by
Steven Thompson.
Stefan Klos was finally called into action in 55
minutes, holding a long-range effort from Darren
Young, but just to prove that the Light Blues were not
exactly sitting on their laurels a Mols cross five
minutes later found Thompson whose header flashed just
over.
Chris Burke replaced Peter Lovenkrands in 61 minutes,
and within four minutes had tested Stillie with a
twenty-two yard shot. Once again, as on Saturday,
Rangers now had six Scots on the field.
Bajram Feita made his first-team debut in 71 minutes
when he replaced Michael Mols, and within six minutes
the Macedonian-born Danish Under-21 Internationalist
rifled the ball into the net following a Frank De Boer
free-kick only for the goal to be disallowed for
offside.
In search of a fifth goal to round off the evening’s
work, Rae had a shot parried by Stillie in 81 minutes
and Thompson’s effort from the rebound was blocked,
but somehow the visitors’ goal survived.
Much more worrying however was an ankle injury
suffered by Frank De Boer in that attack causing the
defender, who had been in magnificent form throughout,
to limp off, leaving Rangers to complete the game with
just ten men.
Alex McLeish afterwards reflected:
“We had a fantastic first-half of quality, great
football and good runs. Injuries are now clearing, and
players are showing what they can do. We’ve had an
opportunity to blood youngsters, and looking ahead
we’ve got to be positive.
More of the same on Sunday will do nicely, Alex.
RANGERS Klos; Hutton, Khizanishvili, F. De Boer, Ball;
Rae, Malcolm, Hughes, Lovenkrands (Burke 61); Mols
(Fetai 71), R. De Boer (Thompson 45)
UNUSED SUBS McGregor, Vanoli
DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC Stillie; Shields, Skerla, S.
Wilson, Tod (Brewster 37), Labonte (Byrne 45);
Nicholson, Darren Young, Mason (Mehmet 82), Derek
Young; Crawford
UNUSED SUBS Ruitenbeek, Dempster
REFEREE Dougie McDonald