OPPO: Rangers
VENUE: Ibrox
RESULT: 3-0 (Arveladze 9 (p), Mols 66, Thompson 83 (p))
TEAM:  Andersson, Whittaker, Doumbe, Caldwell, Edge, Orman ( Riordan, 73 ), Reid, Wiss ( Dobbie, 60 ), Kevin Thomson, Scott Brown, O'Connor ( McManus, 76 ) 
Subs not used: Alistair Brown, Baillie
MAN IN BLACK: Hugh Dallas
ATTENDANCE: 49698

WILLIAMSON’S COMMENTS

"We can perform better, that is for sure,we did not have enough belief when we were on the ball to pass it and keep it, and although we did do that from time to time it was not as often as I would have liked."

"It was disappointing to lose a goal as early as we did. But as long as it was just 1-0 we had an opportunity to get back but the second goal was a blow – but even then you felt that we could get something out of the game if we kept things reasonably tight."

EVENING NEWS

"Hibees pay the penalty"

HIBS may have caused Rangers a spot of bother in their recent CIS Cup semi-final clash at Hampden, the Easter Road outfit claiming victory in a dramatic sudden-death penalty shoot-out.

But since then it is Bobby Williamson’s side who have been left paying the penalty with three of the four goals conceded in subsequent matches coming from the spot.

Given the agony of having seen his old club wrest one of the three trophies claimed last season from his grasp in such a manner, Alex McLeish will no doubt be enjoying the irony of watching his side claim some measure of revenge thanks, in no small measure, to two penalty awards.

THE SCOTSMAN

"Show must go on, but it's a big struggle"

REHEARSALS are never as gripping as the real thing. Without the mind-concentrating fear of fluffing lines or bumping into the furniture, performers are rarely capable of putting on the kind of show that will have onlookers riveted.

Rangers, with their prospects of retaining the championship at ground level and their current second place unthreatened, are basically going through revision exercises, killing time until their Tennent’s Scottish Cup quarter-final at Celtic Park next month.

Hibs, stuck in the demilitarised zone between relegation and a place in the UEFA Cup, are similarly short of incentive while they await the CIS Insurance Cup final against Livingston in three weeks’ time. In this meeting at Ibrox, a stark contrast with the CIS Cup semi-final earlier in the month, the sense of meaninglessness was pervasive.

SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY

"Trick but no treat"

Not that it had been easy for Rangers. Even as the game slid away from Hibs in the second half, they were inventive enough to create two clear scoring opportunities. Alan Reid exchanged a neat one-two with Garry O’Connor before curling it round the far post, and Stephen Dobbie should have done better than head over the bar a free kick by substitute Derek Riordan.

Rangers had not been helped by the absence of their captain, Craig Moore, who did not recover in time from his midweek trip to Venezuela with the Australian national team. Michael Ball, meanwhile, was suspended so that, with his customary deputy Paolo Vanoli nowhere to be seen, Maurice Ross was asked to shuffle across the defence and into the left-back position.

Their adjustment to those changes did not prevent them seizing an advantage before Hibs had been granted time to settle in. Arveladze already had ploughed into a scoring position, slicing over the bar a pass by Christian Nerlinger, but it was with rather more intelligence that he brought about Rangers’ opener after only eight minutes.

SUNDAY MAIL

"GERS STEP OUT SHADOWS"

Hibs kept at it and found a few gaps but their choice of final ball let them down.

The Easter Road side came out after the half-time interval with more belief, their young lads detecting there was nothing to fear.

They knocked the ball about and harassed Rangers into making some stinking passes. However, Capucho was given another chance when Fernando Ricksen delivered a cross into the box that Ryan Giggs would have been chuffed with but the unmarked Portuguese striker headed high and wide from just eight yards.

SUNDAY HERALD

SCOTTISH football is in an odd little spell in which Hibs expect to win their next trophy before Rangers do. Hibs’ season – probably their whole decade – will catch fire if they win the CIS Cup final on March 14 and the entire club is subconciously counting down the days. Rangers have circled a decisive date on the calendar too: the Tennent’s Scottish Cup quarter-final against Celtic on March 7. With both clubs looking so far ahead there was the danger of one of them tripping, and it was Hibs who tumbled.

Hibs knocked Rangers out of the CIS Cup 17 days ago because goalkeeper Daniel Andersson saved one kick in normal time, two more in a shoot-out, and watched as two more missed the target. It was a certainty that penalties would feature somehow yesterday, and so they did. With Shota Arveladze and Steven Thompson both scoring from the spot, either side of a Michael Mols header, Rangers collected their three points while rolling their eyes to the heavens. Had they been so proficient in the cup tie their season would not be in quite the same degree of disarray.

BBC NEWS ONLINE

Rangers gained revenge for their recent CIS Cup semi final defeat by dumping Hibs in an entertaining match at Ibrox. Shota Arveladze scored a ninth minute penalty after he had been tripped and Michael Mols knocked in a sharp shot on the turn with 66 minutes gone.

Steven Thompson celebrated his return from injury with another penalty strike late in the game, following Fernando Ricksen's theatrical collapse. Hibs created several good chances but lacked composure in front of goal.
 

OFFICIAL WEB SITE

"Hibs pay double the penalty"

Just as it seemed Hibs could be back in the game Rangers doubled their advantage in the simplest of manners. A short ball into the area found Mols who held off the challenge of Caldwell before slipping the ball easily into Andersson’s right corner with the goalkeeper helpless. Hibernian then needed to dig deep with 22 minutes of the game remaining, Mols again finding space in the area but this time caught well offside.