Caniggia steals in to delight Rangers

Dunfermline 0 Rangers 1

Rangers scraped into the semi-finals of the CIS Insurance Cup last night – where they will face either Aberdeen of Hearts – thanks to a virtuoso piece of larceny from Claudio Caniggia.

The holders were heading for extra time at East End Park when the Argentinian veteran made an impact by scoring the decisive goal in the 78th minute, just eight minutes after coming off the bench. Caniggia rose to meet a free-kick from Mikel Arteta and planted a downward header which crept in off the post.

Rangers had been outplayed for much of the second half and were indebted to their goalkeeper Stefan Klos for a string of saves from Steve Crawford. The Scotland striker was also aggrieved when his appeal for a penalty, after being shoved in the back by Arthur Numan, was denied just minutes before Caniggia struck.

Events at Parkhead on Wednesday night when Rangers' rivals, Celtic, came close to an exit against Partick Thistle before scraping through on penalties, would have helped to concentrate the mind of their manager, Alex McLeish.

Dunfermline, who lie third in the Scottish Premier League behind the Glasgow pair, ought to have had more chance for an upset. Their manager, Jimmy Calderwood, displayed an adventurous style by pushing Lee Bullen into attack alongside Craig Brewster and Crawford after 10 minutes.

It almost paid off when Bullen and Brewster combined before the latter threaded a superb pass through to Crawford, but the Scotland striker's shot was well saved by Klos. Gary Dempsey was next to threaten, going round Klos before his angled shot was cleared by Bert Konterman.

Despite plenty of midfield possession, Rangers' only threat came via Arteta's fierce 20-yarder which Marco Ruitenbeek touched wide.

Dunfermline (3-5-2): Ruitenbeek; Skerla, McPherson (Kilgannon, 81), Wilson; Bullen, Nicholson, Mason (Hampshire, 86), Dempsey, Dair; Crawford, Brewster. Substitutes not used: Stillie (gk), Karnebeek, Walker.

Rangers (4-3-3): Klos; Ross, Malcolm, Konterman, Numan; Ricksen, Ferguson, Arteta; Hughes (Arveladze, 56), Mols (Caniggia, 70), Lovenkrands. Substitutes not used: McGregor (gk), Latapy, Muscat.

Referee: D McDonald.