Gers too good for Hibs

by Setanta staff , 28 January 2012

Rangers closed the gap to Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premier League to a single point thanks to a 4-0 win over Hibernian at Ibrox on Saturday.


Steven Davis curled home the opener and David Healy netted early in the second period to give Rangers a two-goal cushion.

After Hibernian’s James McPake had been sent off, Sone Aluko’s excellent free-kick wrapped up the victory for the Glaswegians, before Davis struck again late on.

The hosts were first to threaten, with Carlos Bocanegra's having a header from a corner blocked, before Aluko's shot was diverted wide by a teammate.

At the other end, Hibs’ Eoin Doyle had a chance to break the deadlock, but Kyle Bartley was able to deflect the Dubliner’s effort out of play.

Following Doyle’s attempt, the away side continued to pressurise the Rangers’ defence but were hit with a sucker punch in the 27th minute, when the hosts broke and Davis curled a finish past goalkeeper Mark Brown.

Rangers went close to doubling their lead through Maurice Edu, who toe-poked an effort wide from Sasa Papac’s excellent cross, before Hibs almost equalised just prior to the interval, as Doyle narrowly failed to make contact with David Wotherspoon’s centre.

Debutant Tom Soares had a chance to level the clash early in the second period, but was unable to convert Ivan Sproule cross, and the visitors were made to pay soon afterwards.

Healy increased Rangers’ lead in the 55th minute, as a mix-up in the Hibernian penalty area allowed the Northern Irish striker to finish into an unguarded goal.

Hibs were reduced to 10 men when McPake's challenge on Edu resulted in the on-loan Coventry City man being shown a second yellow card, and the home side soon confirmed their victory thanks to Aluko’s superb free-kick.

Davis added gloss to the scoreline in injury time, controlling the ball expertly and blasting a strike past Brown.

Celtic hold a one-point lead over Rangers at the top of the SPL, as well as having a better goal difference and a game in hand.

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Pos
Team P W D L +/- PTS
1.
Man City
38
28
5
5
64
89
2.
Man Utd
38
28
5
5
56
89
3.
Arsenal
38
21
7
10
25
70
4.
Tottenham
38
20
9
9
25
69
5.
Newcastle
38
19
8
11
5
65
6.
Chelsea
38
18
10
10
19
64
7.
Everton
38
15
11
12
10
56
8.
Liverpool
38
14
10
14
7
52
9.
Fulham
38
14
10
14
-3
52
10.
West Brom
38
13
8
17
-7
47
11.
Swansea
38
12
11
15
-7
47
12.
Norwich
38
12
11
15
-14
47
13.
Sunderland
38
11
12
15
-1
45
14.
Stoke
38
11
12
15
-17
45
15.
Wigan
38
11
10
17
-20
43
16.
Aston Villa
38
7
17
14
-16
38
17.
QPR
38
10
7
21
-23
37
18.
Bolton
38
10
6
22
-31
36
19.
Blackburn
38
8
7
23
-30
31
20.
Wolverhampton
38
5
10
23
-43
25
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