A late strike by substitute Kyle Lafferty was enough to give Rangers a 2-1 win over Inverness at the Ibrox on Saturday, giving them a seven point lead at the top of the Clydesdale Premier League.
The home side were slow to get into their stride, and almost paid the price only three minutes in when Lee Cox managed to work his way into the Rangers box, but his shot trickled harmlessly wide.
It took Rangers until the tenth minute to create a decent chance when Steven Whittaker’s header was denied by a great save from Inverness keeper Ryan Esson.
The home side upped the tempo after this incident and started to horde possession, but Inverness still looked dangerous on the break. However, despite looking like the stronger side, Rangers failed to create much in the way of scoring chances, with the closet coming from a Nikica Jelavic header that powered just over the crossbar.
Inverness had a penalty claim turned down by referee Bobby Madden after the away side felt that Jelavic had handled the ball in his own box.
The second half more or less began the same way the first half ended. Rangers had more of the possession, but once again were unable to apply the critical finishes.
Inverness had another penalty claim turned down by the referee after striker William McKay felt he was brought down by Kyle Bartley.
It was the home side that took the lead in the 55th minute however, thanks to some good play from Lee Wallace and Jelavic. Wallace crossed the ball into the Inverness box, which Jelavic was able to chest down for defender Carlos Bocanegra able to smash his shot into the goal from close range.
Rangers finally began to find their stride, and came close again with efforts from both Lafferty and Sasa papac, the latter of which hit the crossbar.
However, Rangers were dealt a serious blow when Gregory Tade played the ball to Andrew Shinnie, who was able to steer his shot past Allan McGregor in the Rangers goal.
The momentum shifted in favour of the away side after this, and they came close through Richie Foran, although his effort was deemed offside. They continued to push forward and came close again when McKay hit the side-netting after rounding McGregor and Jonny Hayes saw his effort cleared off the line by Wallace.
However, it was to be Rangers’ day as Lafferty latched on to a pass from Steven Davis and slotted the ball past Esson in the 82nd minute, ensuring that the home side took all three points.