CHARLIE ADAM DOUBLE SEALS WIN FOR RANGERS - Hibernian 0 Rangers 2 (Adam 2 [3, 59])

Last updated : 10 March 2007 By Southside Johnny



Attendance 16,265

A Rangers line-up that perhaps surprisingly fielded
Allan McGregor included former Hibs' players Kevin
Thomson and Ian Murray in a side that showed two
changes from the Hapoel Tel Aviv game with Ugo Ehiogu
and Charlie Adam replacing Gavin Rae and Nacho Novo.

There was a hostile reception for Thomson in front of
a sell-out crowd, with the home fans' abuse raining
down on their former captain from the opening seconds.

It took just three minutes for the opening goal to
arrive - Adam's inswinging free-kick from wide right
on the touchline finding the net with the aid of the
swirling wind and a misjudgement on the part of home
goalkeeper Simon Brown.

The conditions were clearly not conducive to good
football - a bitterly cold, howling wind that blew
across the park being the key factor - and it was the
half-hour mark before there was another shot on target
when Barry Ferguson's hook shot from another Adam
free-kick was held by Simon Brown.

Two minutes later at the other end David Murphy's
twenty-yard free-kick whistled just wide, then
immediately thereafter Steven Fletcher's cross from
the left was touched onto the top of the crossbar and
over by McGregor.

Adam almost finished the half as he had begun it when
his inwinging free-kick from wide right was held by
Simon Brown.

Hibs restarted on the offensive - substitute
Abdessalam Benjelloun's volley from a Steven Whittaker
cross flashing just over in 48 minutes.

The Light Blue defence was as solid as a rock however
with David Weir outstanding at its' heart.

The Easter Road side have not had their goalkeeping
troubles to seek this season - and that came back to
haunt them yet again in 59 minutes when yet another
Adam free-kick was fumbled into the net by Simon
Brown.

Hibernian almost responded instantaneously when
Fletcher cut in from the left before seeing his
eighteen-yard shot tipped over by McGregor.

Dado Prso replaced the ineffective Kris Boyd in 70
minutes - and three minutes later Scott Brown, through
on a Benjelloun pass, was thwarted by McGregor as the
goalkeeper dived at his feet to touch the ball clear.

Adam again tested Simon Brown with a twenty-yard drive
in 74 minutes that on this occasion the goalkeeper was
equal to.

Hibs kept going to the end - indeed substitute
Merouane Zemmama saw an eighteen-yard shot cleared off
the line by Chris Burke in 89 minutes, but there was
no way back…

In the dying seconds the visiting fans taunted their
counterparts with chants of "We're gonna take Scott
Brown" - a reference to the Hibernian midfielder whom
many believe is Ibrox-bound in the summer.

At the final whistle Kevin Thomson swapped shirts with
Steven Fletcher - and afterwards a contented Walter
Smith reflected:

"It was important to win today. It was a tough game,
but we defended well. We're working hard just now,
looking for consistency."

HIBERNIAN Simon Brown; Whittaker, Jones, Hogg, Murphy;
Sproule (Zemmama 69), Scott Brown, Fletcher, Beuzelin,
Stevenson; Sowunmi (Benjelloun 45)
UNUSED SUBS McNeil, Martis, Stewart, Lynch, McCann

RANGERS McGregor; Hutton, Ehiogu, Weir, Weir, Murray;
Burke, Hemdani, Ferguson, Thomson, Adam; Boyd (Prso
70)
UNUSED SUBS Klos, Papac, Novo, Rae, Lowing, McMillan

REFEREE Charlie Richmond