Rangers had to count the wounded back into the dressing room as they reflected on an 11th consecutive league victory.
No team has been able to take points from the Ibrox side this season but this was an outcome that came with a heavy cost. Ally McCoist headed straight to the Southern General Hospital after his post-match press conference to visit Andy Little, who was stretchered off wearing a neck brace after a hefty collision.
That incident was accidental, but it left the Northern Irish striker with what the Rangers doctor feared was a depressed fracture of the cheekbone, which would rule him out for several months. Defender Richard Foster left the dressing room on crutches after a crude tackle by Callum Morris damaged one of his ankles, while Lee McCulloch played most of the game with six stitches in a wound above his eye after Jordan Moore took him out with an arm during a challenge for a header. "I thought the lad might have been sent off for that," McCoist said wryly.
Rain teemed down on a cold, unforgiving night. Dunfermline Athletic were not prepared to be bashful as they set about trying to restrain the home side, but some of the challenges were reckless. As well as Moore's clash with McCulloch, Alex Whittle was fortunate to receive only a yellow card from the referee Stevie O'Reilly when he clattered into midfielder Ian Black while leading with a raised arm during the second half.
"It was physical," said McCoist. "Little didn't look good. It was a real sore one. Foster will need an X-ray, and that was another incident when the referee could have taken more severe action. But I thought we deserved the victory in the end."
Rangers could not generate any real momentum. The first half was disjointed, since the play tended to be broken up by fouls and injuries, and the home side had to play with 10 men for more than 10 minutes after McCulloch went off for treatment. Players often ended up spreadeagled on the turf. On occasion, the slickness of the surface was to blame, as several lost their footing, but there were several ferocious collisions. Despite not playing with control or authority, Rangers were still the dominant side in the game, even if the chances they created tended to be cobbled together.
That was the nature of the contest; the flow was disrupted and neither side was able to master the conditions or the uncompromising mood. Little should have more decisive with a header before he was stretchered off, but his contact with David Templeton's cross was not strong or accurate enough and the ball skewed wide. Templeton had delivered his cross into a dangerous area, but it was mostly a frustrating night for the winger. His decision making was flawed, so that most of his promising openings were needlessly scorned.
There was little constructive play from the callow visitors. Their only opportunity before the interval came when Sebastian Faure and Black got themselves into a fankle just inside their own half, allowing Ryan Wallace to race upfield then pass the ball into Andy Geggan's path. The midfielder was rash, though, and skied his shot over the bar.
The second-half became little more than a collection of bookings and substitutions. That did not help the flow of the game, and it seemed to be petering out in a gloomy, aggressive nature, but recklessness was an enduring theme and it delivered the breakthrough, since Moore appeared to haul McCulloch to the ground just as Nicky Law was taking a corner. Moore received a second yellow card for the incident, and McCulloch picked himself up to score.
The lead had been hard won, but it was with almost casual ease that Rangers strengthened their hold on the game. With few other options available, Faure sent a cross from deep into the penalty area and Jon Daly expertly looped a header into the far corner and beyond the reach of Ryan Scully, the Dunfermline goalkeeper.
The visitors were not belittled by the turn of events, and a break upfield ended with Alan Smith's shot being blocked by Cammy Bell, but the ball then broke to Josh Falkingham who took advantage of the Rangers goalkeeper being out of position to score. It was only in injury time that the home side could be certain of holding onto the victory, when Bilel Mohsni lashed the ball high into the net when it fell to him inside the penalty area.
"The penalty was very soft," Jim Jefferies, the Dunfermline manager,. claimed. "A young boy throwing Lee McCulloch about? It was a very young team, and the first time some had been inside the stadium, let alone play here. We didn't make it easy for them."
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