Summary
HIBERNIAN 1 RANGERS 2 DONT let the scoreline fool you. Rangers warmed up for their first-footing assignment at Celtic Park by dominating this utterly one-sided match before suffering a late wobble which almost led to the smash-and-grab act of 2007. Hibs wouldnt have deserved a point from a game in which they barely competed yet, spurred on by the contributions of substitutes Guillaume Beuzelin, Alan OBrien and goalscorer Merouane Zemmama, they nearly got out of jail. Goals from Stevie Naismith and a cracker from Daniel Cousin had Rangers cruising and, with Barry Ferguson in complete midfield control, this game was an SPL mismatch for 87 minutes. John Collins, who quit Easter Road after being denied the funds to replenish a squad weakened by regular player sales, obviously saw this sort of performance coming. With caretaker Tommy Craig also having to contend with an extensive injury list, the outcome of this match seemed a foregone conclusion from the off. Rangers were good, but they didnt have to be much better than that to earn their goals. Its hard to comprehend that when these two teams last met, a David Murphy header sealed a 1-0 victory which took Hibs to the top of the SPL table. Less than three months on, the Leith side are sliding towards the bottom half of the table.
Hibs looked weak and vulnerable before a ball was kicked.See the full content of this document
Extract
Barry Skippers
Well have to take Craigs word that Murphy was suffering from a hamstring injury but, with the transfer window about to open and chairman Rod Petrie keen to cash in on the clubs most saleable asset, his omission...
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