Rangers................3 Dunfermline...............1
WE SHOULD have known
better than to believe the pre-match promises of Dunfermline manager Bert Paton.
He had claimed 24 hours ahead of this premier division clash that his team would attack the champions on their own ground.
Instead, of course, the Fifers arrived determined to avoid another humiliation at the hands of Rangers.
As Paton confessed after the game: ``I was fed up being hammered by Rangers this season and that's why I sent out a team to try to frustrate them. It's not the way I like to play the game, but we had to do something.''
After having conceded a total of 11 goals in the previous league clash in Fife and the Coca-Cola Cup semi-final, Paton had some justification for his change of approach at Ibrox.
However, if Rangers had taken just a few of the chances they created in the first half, even the defensive formation which faced the Ibrox men would not have saved the East End Park team from another embarrassment.
As it turned out, Rangers scored after just five minutes and then, inexplicably, were unable to go further in front until the closing 10 minutes.
In between, the massive 45,878 crowd were forced to settle for an afternoon of boredom which was lightened only by the glimpses of genius from Paul Gascoigne and the darting runs of Brian Laudrup.
Ultimately they did get what they wanted most of all, the three points which carried them still further in front of their challengers at the top of the table and eased the memory of that midweek defeat against Dundee United at Tannadice.
Although the Ibrox team did see their injury list grow longer, with Craig Moore and Ally McCoist both limping off, manager Walter Smith had some encouragement from the return of German Jorg Albertz and the sight of veteran Trevor Steven back in his midfield role.
The manager said of the visitors' tactics: ``They were always going to play cautiously after the last two results and we expected that.
``It was good to see Trevor playing the way he did. I thought he did really well.''
Steven's recent time at Ibrox has been savagely disrupted by injury. Now Smith clearly expects to be able to use his play-making talents alongside those of Gascoigne in the midfield.
It was a cross from Steven which gave skipper Richard Gough his headed goal - Rangers' second - in 80 minutes, while his one-time England team-mate, Gascoigne, was involved in the two other strikes.
The first goal, for McCoist, had begun with a corner kick from Gascoigne, and he released Brian Laudrup to set up the third goal in 82 minutes for Erik Bo Andersen, who had replaced the injured McCoist seven minutes earlier.
Dunfermline did get on to the score-sheet themselves in the final minute, when, with the Rangers defence caught out, substitute Allan Moore scored.
Moore, although he was on the field for just 20 minutes, did not suffer from the lack of confidence which seemed to affect so many of his team-mates.
As manager Paton observed: ``Too many of my players were overawed by Rangers. A lot of them were at Ibrox for the first time and that did not help.
``We had to give some of them a slap in the ear at half-time. It was very hard for some of them to handle it.''
Now the Fifers must handle another difficult game for them. Celtic, fresh from a two-game break, will be visitors to East End Park on Wednesday in another game which will be crucial in the battle for this season's coveted championship.
Rangers, too, are in action this midweek, at home against Kilmarnock tomorrow, and it will be this morning before they know if McCoist, who damaged an ankle, will be ready to play. It seems doubtful.
There was just one booking in this game, Ivo Den Bieman for a first-half foul on Laudrup.
Next Games: Rangers - Kilmarnock (h); Dunfermline - Celtic (h).
TALKING POINT
THE confirmation that Trevor Steven is indeed back to full fitness and ready to help Rangers over the hectic next few weeks came in this match. The return of Steven, with his experience and his skill, could be a bonus for Rangers, who have suffered badly with injuries.
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