Rangers make most of Kilgannon's red mist

Rangers 3 Dunfermline Athletic

Don't be fooled by the scoreline, Rangers were made to sweat yesterday until they took advantage of Dunfermline's numerical disadvantage and plundered two late goals.

That embellishment allowed Ibrox to celebrate a return to the top of the Scottish Premier League, though Celtic could change that today. Dunfermline's game-plan was wrecked by a moment of folly from Sean Kilgannon, sent off for retaliation.

The visitors came to Ibrox not only with a sense of embarrassment after being thrashed 6-0 by Rangers in the previous League encounter in September, but also a measure of injustice following a recent Scottish League Cup defeat which hinged on a controversial refereeing decision.

Normally, Jimmy Calderwood's team play an attacking brand of football. However, being turned over by Rangers in the past had fixed the visiting manager's mind on a far more cautious outlook this time, and Dunfermline gave nothing away.

The only early chance for Rangers came after eight minutes, when Neil McCann delivered a perfect ball to the back post which picked out Fernando Ricksen, whose header just shaved the post.

Dunfermline created one fine chance of their own when Craig Brewster whipped in a cross which required a lunge from Craig Moore to take it out of Steve Crawford's path. In the 19th minute Rangers' Georgian striker Shota Arveladze only had to find an empty net from six yards, after Michael Mols's flick cut out the goalkeeper, Derek Stillie, but incredibly he hit a post with a header from five yards out.

As the interval approached, Ibrox was under a cloud as the home support grew restless. Rangers finally found a crack in the Dunfermline defence in the 44th minute when Ricksen's deft chip found Arveladze free on the edge of the box, but the striker snatched at his shot and pulled it wide.

Rangers' anxiety heightened further when they finally had the ball in the net after 58 minutes, only for it rightly to be disallowed for offside against Ricksen. But a goal did arrive just 60 seconds later – though there was a touch of fortune attached to it.

Mols's short corner found McCann, who attempted a cross to the back post, but instead the ball curled into the top corner of the net. Then, a couple of minutes later, Dunfermline's Kilgannon, who had only come on to the pitch as a substitute moments earlier, saw red for retaliating after a dreadful late tackle from Kevin Muscat.

Crawford refused to give up the fight; the Scotland striker showed great skill in a solo run and could have gone down twice under crude challenges. He opted to stay on his feet and his shot was blocked.

Rangers eventually settled the game 10 minutes from the end, when Mols turned his marker to score with a left-foot shot. Two minutes later, the Dutchman set up Arveladze to tap in.

Rangers 3 Dunfermline Athletic 0
McCann 60, Mols 81, Arveladze 83

Half-time: 0-0 Attendance: 48,431