AYE STEADY
Aribo and Kent on target as relentless Gers march on unbeaten
THE stands may be empty this season but Ibrox remains a fortress for Rangers. Another week, another win, another step towards an unbeaten league campaign.
It was business as usual in Govan yesterday. Steven Gerrard’s men might be on their victory lap in the Premiership but they are refusing to canter towards the finishing line.
Hibs asked them as many questions as any side heading to Glasgow’s south side this season, with Kevin Nisbet’s late goal making it an interesting closing spell in a match that was never put to bed.
But Rangers produced two moments of the quality that’s made them a cut above the rest this year.
Joe Aribo’s all-action display was capped by a thudding first-half volley for the opener before Ryan Kent grabbed goal No.12 of the season with a second-half sizzler from outside the box.
Hibs always posed a threat but Gerrard’s men had gun power up their sleeves whenever it was needed.
The relentless march goes on. Gers have now won 17 out of 17 on their own patch and getting the job done at home has laid the foundations for this memorable campaign.
There might not be punters roaring them on from the stands but it’s been comfortable viewing at home.
Nathan Patterson and Josh Doig gave us a glimpse of Scotland’s future full-backs but it was the same old stars who shone for Rangers again.
Aribo was a driving force, Steven Davis a pass master and Kent the cutting edge. At the back Allan McGregor was on hand to deal with anything that came his way and it was all just so familiar.
Hibs have caused Rangers more problems than most this term and did so again yesterday. There were another couple of curveballs from Jack Ross. The Light Blues probably expected to be up against a back three but the Easter Road men went with a four and it seemed to take them a while to work out a different plan of attack. It only took about 10 minutes.
Hibs were lively on the counter but Rangers have just overwhelmed sides this season. Aribo’s 20th-minute opener was a superb volleyed finish after a neat bit of link-up play involving Patterson. But it was also down to sheer pressure.
Kemar Roofe saw his sliding effort ruled out offside but was back up to test Ofir Marciano moments later. It was Aribo who picked up the scraps to kick-start the move that ended up in a goal and Gers were wrapped around the Hibs penalty area like a big blue boa constrictor.
The goal had been coming but it was as if Hibs were getting a hammering. The Leith men looked fairly lethal when they got out of their own third and sprung on the counter.
Christian Doidge and Nisbet were dangerous on the shoulder as was Martin Boyle bursting down the channels.
The latter was shown a yellow card for diving not long after the opener but it looked a little harsh.
There wasn’t enough contact from Filip Helander to warrant a penalty when he hit the deck but the booking wasn’t deserved either.
But Hibs got some encouragement and were unlucky not to be level before the break. Nisbet popped up in the pocket to drive an effort wide
and then Boyle broke inside as well to force McGregor to divert the danger away, even if he did protest he never got a touch.
Paul Hanlon couldn’t find the target after getting his head to the resulting corner and Gers were having to dig in.
The flow was mainly in the other direction though. Aribo was busy, Kent looked in the mood, Barisic had the slingshot left peg throwing balls across the face of goal.
There was a decent first-half tempo but it seemed to dip in the second.
Aribo was making Gers tick, linking with Alfredo Morelos and teeing up Kent, before laying one on for Patterson to blast over the bar. But
Rangers were shifting up the gears again and Kent put the foot down.
Hibs ushered the wide man inside and he made them pay, shuffling past a couple of markers before pulling the trigger with his left foot from more than 20 yards, the ball swirling away from Marciano into the far corner.
It was another moment of sheer quality from the player. And it was another quietly impressive performance from McGregor.
He didn’t have to make flashy saves but made solid ones look simple, beating away a Boyle drive from the angle and a looping Nisbet free-kick from miles out. There was another even better block to deny Paul
Hanlon’s pointblack header but the Hibs defender was pulled up for barging through the crowd before he nudged the ball in on the rebound.
Nisbet hit the front post to steer Paul McGinn’s cross into the far corner to give his side a sniff late on. But that’s all it was. Rangers are already enjoying the sweet smell of success and are on the scent of an invincible end to the season.