Rangers exacted a measure of revenge for elimination
from the League Cup with a 3-0 victory over Hibernian
at Ibrox this afternoon, two of the goals ironically
coming from the penalty spot.
Manager Alex McLeish made two changes from the
Pittodrie debacle with Henning Berg and Mikel Arteta
replacing Craig Moore and Michael Ball.
It took Rangers just eight minutes to open the scoring
– Shota Arveladze slotting the ball past the Light
Blue’s Hampden nemesis, Daniel Andersson, after the
Georgian had himself been upended by Mathias Doumbe.
Steven Whittaker tested Stefan Klos with a thirty-yard
drive that the goalkeeper turned wide six minutes
later.
Nuno Capucho should have extended the home side’s lead
on the half-hour when he headed wide from an Arteta
free-kick, but the half ended with just that one goal
and the crowd growing increasingly angry over the
idiosyncratic refereeing of Hugh Dallas.
Capucho came close twice in the opening minutes of the
second half, firstly chipping an Arveladze pass wide,
then failing to hit the target with a header from a
Ricksen cross.
Michael Mols, having substituted for Ronald De Boer in
59 minutes, added Goal Number Two six minutes later
with a classic turn and shot from a Ricksen pass.
With Steven Thomson and Stephen Hughes both making
welcome returns from injury as substitutes, a second
penalty for the Light Blues in 82 minutes (awarded for
a Ronald Edge foul on Ricksen) offered Thompson the
opportunity to mark his return with a goal, which he
duly did.
3-0 ahead, Rangers played out time content with the
comfortable win, although many ‘Gers fans must have
wondered why one of those penalties could not have
been saved for Hampden on 5 February.
RANGERS Klos; Ricksen, Berg, F. De Boer, Ross; Arteta
(Hughes 80), Emerson, Nerlinger; Capucho, De Boer
(Mols 59), Arveladze (Thompson 68)
UNUSED SUBS McGregor, Hutton
HIBERNIAN Andersson; Whittaker, Doumbe, Caldwell,
Edge; Orman (Riordan 72), Wiss (Dobbie 59), Thomson,
Reid; O’Connor (McManus 76), S. Brown
UNUSED SUBS A. Brown, Baillie
REFEREE Hugh Dallas