Wayward genius comes to the aid of Ibrox party. Gascoigne hat trick gives Rangers' support cause for celebration

Gascoigne scored a hat trick to consign Aberdeen to defeat and place himself among the many Ibrox legends who have preceded him in the history of the club.

His display simply added to the immense contribution that the player has made throughout the season. The three goals he scored brought his total so far to 19 and the prospect remains that he will add to that before the season ends with the Scottish Cup final at Hampden on May 18.

His genius - there is no other word to use - has helped set Rangers apart from their main challengers, Celtic, this season.

The Parkhead side have now travelled the long and demanding title road, so far suffering just a single league defeat, and yet have finished a season which began filled with promise without anything to show for their efforts.

There have been many elements in Rangers' success. The greatness of Gascoigne and the mercurial talents of Brian Laudrup have combined so often to turn games for the champions.

The leadership of Richard Gough - and it was significant that the defender was the first man Smith went to at the end of the game - has been crucial.

The goalkeeping of Andy Goram, too, has counted when it mattered, though it was scarcely required yesterday.

Also, there has been the resilience of this group of players who, year-after-year, have ground out the results which have produced eight league titles in a row.

Yesterday, there could have been a chance of Aberdeen spoiling the party. They arrived to attempt that, hoping to pull Rangers forward, and then hit them with counter attacks.

The huge crowd of 47,247 crowd which packed Ibrox was ready to celebrate but even they sensed that a premature party was not in order.

When Aberdeen opened the scoring there was a nervousness in the stands but, within a minute, Gascoigne had put the home fans at ease.

He went on to take centre stage and simply refused to relinquish that position. His performance must rank among the finest individual displays ever witnessed at Ibrox. It brought him his first league championship medal and it pushed Rangers towards the 10-in-a-row title victories that their fans are already demanding of them.

It was fitting at the end of the game that Gascoigne - given the match ball to salute his hat trick - should be last to leave the field. He stood there, ball in one hand, with the other arm raised to salute his adoring support.

He deserved all the accolades which fell to him after first bringing Rangers back into the game then sending them on to victory.

After 20 minutes Aberdeen gave notice that their intention was not to be bit players in any drama which was about to unfold. A corner from Stephen Glass on the right went into the Rangers box where some untidy defending allowed the ball to reach Brian Irvine, who had just returned to the field after attention to a head injury, to force a shot over the line.

That goal momentarily stunned the Ibrox fans - but within a minute Gascoigne - who else - had brought them level.

He gathered the ball from a Stuart McCall throw-in in the penalty box, beat off three separate challenges, then guided a shot out of the reach of Michael Watt and into the far corner of the net.

There might have been some rare moments of worry for Rangers after that but the outcome always looked as if it would go Rangers way and give them the title they wanted so desperately to win in front of their own support.

Twice the woodwork stopped the Ibrox men going in front. In 31 minutes a corner from Gascoigne went to McCall, whose chip to the far post reached Alan McLaren but his header struck a post.

Again, in 73 minutes, with the scores still level, McLaren reached another Gascoigne corner but this time his header was turned on to the bar by Watt.

Ally McCoist took over from Erik Bo Andersen in 61 minutes and Gordan Petric replaced Trevor Steven shortly after as Rangers searched for the winner.

It seemed to be the kind of situation which McCoist revels in, called off the bench and being asked to produce a miracle as he has done so often in the past. But yesterday Gascoigne would not give up the spotlight for anyone.

If his first goal was candidate for strike of the season, then his second was even better when it arrived nine minutes from the end.

He collected a ball on the halfway line, raced past challenge after challenge, then delivered a left-foot shot which sped past Watt and into the net as the stadium erupted.

Even then it was not over. Four minutes from the end Laudrup sent Gordon Durie clear down the right. As he outpaced Paul Barnard, the Aberdeen player brought him down and referee Les Mottram awarded a penalty.

Gascoigne, inevitably, took it and side-footed the ball into Watt's left-hand corner and the game was over.

From then until the end it seemed that all Gascoigne could do was celebrate.

With a nice sentimental touch the Rangers manager sent on Ian Durrant for Durie in the last minute so that the long-serving Ranger could enjoy the celebrations.

Incidentally, Gascoigne escaped a yellow card, so he can now look forward to play in the Scottish Cup final against Hearts.

Indeed, no Rangers players were booked and those who walked a tightrope towards the final can now relax.

Aberdeen had Stewart McKimmie cautioned in the second half.

Teams:

RANGERS: Goram, Steven, Robertson, Gough, McLaren, Brown, Durie, Gascoigne, Andersen, McCall, Laudrup. Substitutes - Durrant, McCoist, Petric.

ABERDEEN: Watt, McKimmie, Smith, Rowson, Irvine, Inglis, Bernard, Windass, Booth, Dodds, Glass. Substitutes - Grant, Stillie, Kpedekpo.