Attendance 48,431
It took a long time, but Rangers’ 3-0 win over Dunfermline Athletic at Ibrox this afternoon took them back to the top of the SPL, albeit perhaps only for one day.
Last week’s setback at Aberdeen cost Rangers the League leadership, and for long enough today it seemed that a second successive draw might be on the cards, but once the deadlock had been broken after an hour there was never any doubt about the outcome.
Rangers made four changes from last weekend with Maurice Ross, Bert Konterman, Russell Latapy and Ronald De Boer all absent, being replaced by Kevin Muscat, Craig Moore, Mikel Arteta and Neil McCann. McCann’s presence was giving Rangers width, and twice in the opening stages his deep crosses created opportunities to open the scoring - in eight minutes Fernando Ricksen’s header was just wide of the target, then twelve minutes later Michael Mols knocked the ball back for Shota Arveladze, who seemed certain to score only for his header to strike the post.
These chances were alas almost the only incidents worthy of mention in a poor first-half with the Fife club denying Rangers space, getting men behind the ball and stifling the home side’s creativity.
Almost on the stroke of half-time a Ricksen chip found Arveladze clear only for the Georgian to shoot weakly past the post.
This afternoon’s meeting was the third meeting between the two clubs this season, and it was clear from the opening forty-five minutes that a side containing three former Rangers’ players (Gus McPherson, Scott Wilson and Barry Nicholson) had learned a great deal from the earlier two – most certainly there was no prospect whatsoever of another six-goal massacre this afternoon.
Rangers were more positive upon the restart. Mols and Arveladze broke from the halfway line in 49 minutes only to be crowded out, and then three minutes later Mols shot just over following his trademark turn from an Arthur Numan pass.
A controversial offside decision in 57 minutes denied the Light Blues the opening goal when Numan’s powerful drive was diverted into the net by Ricksen, but it scarcely mattered for within two minutes the deadlock was broken when Neil McCann took possession of an Arteta corner at the junction of the penalty area before curling a left-foot shot into the net via a post, with Pars’ goalkeeper Derek Stillie perhaps misjudging the flight of the ball.
Straight from the restart the game exploded when Dunfermline were reduced to ten men with the ordering-off of Sean Kilgannon, who had been on the park all of four minutes. Tackled from behind by Kevin Muscat (who himself received a yellow card for his troubles) Kilgannon took a wild kick at the Australian and left Referee John Underhill with no alternative but to dismiss him.
Rangers went all out to seal the game and had another goal chalked off – again for offside – when Arveladze headed a Muscat cross past Stillie. Seven minutes later Mols should have done better than slice wide an Arveladze lay-off from a Muscat cross, then with quarter-of-an-hour remaining on the clock the Dutchman was inches away from being on the end of a low centre from substitute Claudio Caniggia.
There was only one team in it now – two minutes on a Ricksen in-swinger presented Arveladze with a golden opportunity only for the Georgian to miss-time his header.
The second goal duly arrived with ten minutes remaining when a classic turn and shot by Michael Mols from a Kevin Muscat pass found the net.
Two minutes later it was 3-0 when Shota Arveladze finished off a move down the right by Mikel Arteta and Michael Mols that sliced open the visiting defence.
It only remained for Arteta to crack one of the upright in 86 minutes with a 25-yard drive, and for Mols to be substituted in the last minute, suffering an injury as a result of a Scott Wilson foul.
Manager Alex McLeish afterwards praised his players: "They showed great patience. The fans always want an early goal, but the game lasts ninety minutes. This was a very important win."
RANGERS Klos; Muscat, Moore, Malcolm, Numan; Ricksen, Ferguson, Arteta, McCann (Caniggia 71); Mols (Dodds 90), Arveladze
UNUSED SUBS McGregor, Latapy, Hughes
DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC Stillie; Bullen, McPherson (Hampshire 80), Wilson, Skerla; Nicholson, Thomson, Dempsey (Kilgannon 56), Dair (McGroarty 75); Brewster, Crawford
UNUSED SUBS Ruitenbeek, Walker REFEREE John Underhill