Attendance 49,240
Rangers moved six points clear in the title race with a comfortable 2-0 win over Motherwell at Ibrox tonight courtesy of goals from Barry Ferguson and Peter Lovenkrands.
Manager Alex McLeish made four changes from the League Cup winning side of Sunday with Maurice Ross, Bob Malcolm, Kevin Muscat and Steven Thompson replacing Lorenzo Amoruso (so unjustly suspended), Jerome Bonnissel, Mikel Arteta and Claudio Caniggia.
Motherwell in bygone years have operated a defence-in-depth policy at Ibrox, but on this occasion (under Ibrox legend Terry Butcher) they were the first to threaten in six minutes when Jamie McFadden¹s pass found Dirk Lehmann whose shot struck Stefan Klos on the chest.
That near miss was perhaps exactly the wake-up call that Rangers needed, for they duly went ahead in seventeen minutes when Barry Ferguson executed a superb 22-yard free-kick for the opening goal.
Referee Hugh Dallas had a few harsh words for Jamie McFadden four minutes later when the 'Well youngster quite deliberately walked straight into Barry Ferguson with the ball out of play. It was an act of sheer stupidity on the part of McFadden, particularly as it happened right in front of the official.
The Ibrox men were in total command without having the cutting edge up front to add to their goals tally, although Ferguson almost added a second before he interval when his low twenty-yard left-foot drive from Thompson¹s pass shaved the post.
If a one-goal lead at the interval scarcely reflected the home side¹s superiority, a quick strike in the opening seconds of the second-half went some way to redressing the balance. Muscat it was who created the opening with a penetrating run down the left before releasing Peter Lovenkrands with a clever pass the Dane¹s pace taking him clear of the defence before clipping the ball past Francois Dubourdeau in the 'Well goal.
With the Allied Forces on the brink of war in the Gulf the resident Ibrox band struck up a patriotic chord with several renditions of ³RULE BRITANNIA² throughout the second-half.
With the game all but won, Alex McLeish took the opportunity to freshen things up, replacing Ronald De Boer and Michael Mols with Bert Konterman and Shota Arveladze.
It was almost 3-0 on the hour when Thompson was inches away from connecting with a low cross from Mo Ross. Peter Lovenkrands departed to a standing ovation six minutes later, and almost immediately his substitute Neil McCann made an impression when his curling cross found Arveladze whose diving header was parried by Dubourdeau.
The 'new boys' were out to impress Muscat¹s curling effort from a McCann pass being just too high on seventy minutes, then two minutes later Bert Konterman played a one-two with Thompson only to see his goal-bound drive blocked.
The troublesome McFadden was again in the thick of things in 75 minutes when he knocked Ricksen off the ball without punishment from Hugh Dallas, yet within sixty seconds Muscat was yellow-carded for a foul (his first of the night) on the selfsame player. Rangers were content to play out time with their two-goal lead intact, although Thompson came close to adding a third right on the final whistle when his drive from a McCann cross whistled over the crossbar.
Once again the Ibrox Band brought a stirring royalist note to proceedings with 'GOD SAVE THE QUEEN' as the game came to a close.
Alex McLeish afterwards reflected on a satisfying ninety minutes:
'We won comfortably. It¹s always a concern playing just a few days after a Cup Final in case of reaction. Sunday was draining both mentally and physically. We made a few changes the squad is pretty strong. Motherwell worked hard to close us down. The win keeps the pressure on Celtic, but they are capable of winning their games in hand. There's not many games left.
'I have nothing to say on the subject of Lorenzo Amoruso.'
RANGERS Klos; Ross, Moore, Malcolm, Muscat; Ricksen, Ferguson, De Boer (Konterman 57), Lovenkrands (McCann 66); Mols (Arveladze 60), Thompson
UNUSED SUBS McGregor, Hughes
MOTHERWELL Dubourdeau; Ramsey (Cowan 28), Partridge, Lauchlan, Hammell; Corrigan, McFadden, Lasley, Adams; Lehmann (Craig 75), Clarkson (Offoing 64)
UNUSED SUBS Woods, Fagan
REFEREE Hugh Dallas