No let-up this time by Rangers as abject Hibs are swept aside
● Ibrox men make flying start and retain control as ten-man Leith side lose discipline
Establishing an early 2-0 advantage is no guarantee of success – as Rangers know to their cost.
It was only earlier this month that they let slip a lead of this margin at Pittodrie against Aberdeen. They were even quicker out of the blocks on this occasion. Two goals inside the opening eight minutes by Ryan Kent and Joe
Aribo meant they were in control from early on. It helps when the opponents then suffer a lapse in discipline. Ryan Porteous’ straight red card on the hour mark for a rash lunge on Borna Barisic was another learning curve in the oftenimpulsive youngster’s development. It led to a short burst of chaos.
Figures people had never heard of were getting red cards. Tom Culshaw, the Rangers technical coach, was shown one and sent packing from the dugout. John Potter, Jack Ross’ assistant, was also invited to leave the technical area following his part in a scuffle that had broken out in response to a challenge by Porteous that could have led to serious injury.
Referee Nick Walsh resisted handing out more red cards and attention returned to the pitch, where items of rubbish thrown on by individuals in the east stand ringed the area where Barisic had been lyingashereceivedtreatment. There was even a bottle hurled on, evoking memories of last season when Celtic’s Scott Sinclair was almost hit by one here. The left-back was then the subject of jeers for the rest of the match. Crazily, several fans sitting in the main stand stood up to applaud Porteous as he disappeared down the tunnel. Rangers were three up by this time after Jermain Defoe scored the Ibrox side’s third nine minutes after halftime and following Hibs’ best spell of the game. All this and the visitors were without their suspended top scorer Alfredo Morelos.
These were not the circumstances in which Hibs defender Darren Mcgregor wanted to make a long-awaited comeback. The centre-half was sent on for Scott Allan to help the ten men try to limit the damage.
Hibs just did not get going. Ross had picked an attacking line-up but it was unable to function given Rangers’ continual pressing. They were already trailing by two goals having barely left their own half. It was the ultimate sobering experience for the Hibs fans on a night when many in the crowd had clearly had a few to celebrate clocking off from work for the festive period. Their team, it seemed, had done likewise.
Rangers, meanwhile, were rampant. Some had wondered if they might succumb to the pressure of knowing they had to keep on Celtic’s tail. But Steven Gerrard’s side kept their nerve to move to within two points of Celtic once more, with the same number of games played. The league