far-from-impressive 3-1 win over Partick Thistle at
Ibrox on Saturday.
The win, following three games in which only two
points have been secured, was not without cost with
both Christian Nerlinger and Fernando Ricksen injured.
Manager Alex McLeish made six changes from the side
that had overwhelmed Forfar in midweek with Stefan
Klos, Henning Berg, Michael Ball, Mikel Arteta,
Michael Mols and Ricksen replacing Allan McGregor,
Maurice Ross, Zurab Khizanishvili, Emerson, Paulo
Vanoli and Stephen Hughes.
Rangers struck early – taking the lead in seven
minutes when Arteta struck with a twenty-yard
free-kick that went in off the crossbar.
The injury problems that have plagued the Light Blues
for so long struck again after eighteen minutes when
Ricksen was stretchered off with an ankle injury,
being replaced by Khizanishvili.
Sixty seconds later Thistle almost squared the game
when Jamie Mitchell shot wide of the target from a
James Grady pass.
Grady, whose shameful conduct last season had made him
so unpopular with Rangers’ fans tested Klos in 26
minutes when his shot on the turn from a John McBride
pass was turned wide.
Rangers were struggling as they surrendered possession
all too easily with the visitors coming more and more
into the game. Grady was proving to be a thorn in the
side of a disjointed home defence, his header from a
Ricky Waddell cross in 32 minutes being just wide of
the upright.
Despite holding a slender lead, the Champions’
performance was dire, and Thistle – the one SPL team
without a win all season – were dominating play AND
creating chances with the 49,551 spectators becoming
more and more restless.
In an attempt to change the course of the game, Alex
McLeish made a second substitution in 35 minutes when
Arveladze replaced Egil Ostenstad.
Somehow – in 39 minutes – Rangers went two up when a
long through-ball from Ball was met by a mid-air
volley from Mols who thundered a left-foot drive into
the net.
The score was a travesty, yet before the interval it
might have been 3-0 when Nerlinger shot over from a
Mols cutback.
There was yet another enforced change on the stroke of
half-time when Nerlinger limped off to be replaced by
Hughes.
Rangers had regained the control of the game they had
surrendered so meekly before the interval, yet created
precious little in the way of clear-cut chances – a
Capucho header in 56 minutes from a Ball cross being
held by Kenny Arthur.
Mikel Arteta – by some distance the outstanding player
afield – made it 3-0 from the penalty spot in 75
minutes when substitute Jean-Yves Anis upended Peter
Lovenkrands.
Brady reduced the deficit in 82 minutes when he
slotted the ball home from an Andrew Ross pass, before
gesturing to the home fans, an offence that was
clearly seen by Referee John Rowbotham who incredibly
failed to take any action.
Rangers nevertheless finished the game in command, but
it had hardly been an impressive performance and
certainly does not augur well for Old Trafford.
Manager Alex McLeish afterwards announced that
Nerlinger is definitely out of Tuesday’s game with a
torn calf muscle, and Ricksen extremely doubtful.
“It was good to get a win – the result was
all-important.”
RANGERS Klos; Ricksen (Khizanishvili 18), Moore, Berg,
Ball; Capucho, Arteta, Nerlinger (Hughes 45),
Lovenkrands; Mols, Ostenstad (Arveladze 35)
UNUSED SUBS McGregor, Vanoli
PARTICK THISTLE Arthur; Lilley (Anis 73), Murray,
Whyte, Milne; Rowson, Mitchell, Fleming (Ross 62),
Waddell; McBride (Gemmell 70), Grady
UNUSED SUBS Mikkelsen, Madaschi
REFEREE John Rowbotham