(Caniggia 3{10, 59, 67}, Arteta (26), Ricksen (41), Ferguson Pen (56)
Attendance 8,948
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With last season's leading scorer Tore Andre Flo now departed for pastures new there was no shortage of goalscorers with Claudio Caniggia notching his first
hat-trick for the club.
Rangers showed just the one change from the line-up that had defeated Aberdeen one week earlier with Caniggia replacing the injured Peter Lovenkrands against a Dunfermline side boasting two ex-Rangers players Scott Wilson and Barry Nicholson.
A one-minute silence in memory of former Dunfermline Chairman Mel Rennie was immaculately observed prior to kick-off.
The Pars were the first to threaten - a Craig Brewster pass finding Steve Crawford clear on goal only for his angled drive to be turned behind for a corner by Stefan Klos in six minutes.
It was a false dawn for the home side however - Rangers taking the lead four minutes later when a Fernando Ricksen cross somehow eluded the Dunfermline
defenders, allowing Caniggia to open the scoring when he coolly rounded Marco Ruitenbeek before stroking the ball into the net.
The 'Gers were hungry for more - two minutes later Shota Arveladze's shot from a Ronald De Boer pass was turned wide by the Pars' goalkeeper, then another effort by the Georgian forward was chalked off for offside.
Dunfermline were still in the game at this stage however - Klos had to look lively in 23 minutes to smother a Gary Mason effort from a Brewster flick, but
Ruitenbeek was the busier goalkeeper by a long way, making a spectacular save from a Fernando Ricksen twenty-yard drive shortly afterwards.
Goal Number Two was merely delayed a matter of seconds however - Mikel Arteta taking a Caniggia pass to score his first goal for the club with a superb curling effort from the edge of the box in 26 minutes.
Only Ruitenbeek seemed to stand between Rangers and a runaway win at this stage - three times in seven minutes he produced spectacular saves to prevent the loss of a third goal. Firstly he turned wide Arveladze's left-foot shot from eighteen yards following a Caniggia break, then he made a superb one-handed save from a Craig Moore header from the subsequent Arteta corner, and finally he fisted over Shota's drive following a penetrating run by the Georgian.
The Light Blues would not be denied however - Ricksen striking a third goal with a low twenty-yarder following yet another Arteta corner.
For once Rangers did not take their foot off the accelerator with the game won so early, instead resuming after the interval as hungry for more goals as before.
Arveladze was yet again denied by Ruitenbeek when the goalkeeper blocked his effort with his legs in 52 minutes, but four minutes on it was 4-0 when Barry
Ferguson did his customary job from the penalty spot following Wilson's foul on Arveladze.
Caniggia added Number Five just before the hour-mark, and again it was an error by ex-Ranger Scott Wilson that was responsible. An Arteta free-kick saw the ball break off Wilson into the path of the Argentinian World Cup star who stabbed the ball home.
It was now a rout, and Caniggia completed his hat-trick in 67 minutes when he volleyed home a De Boer head-flick from an Arteta corner.
Six goals ahead, Rangers finally eased up and played out time content with a good afternoon's workout.
DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC
Ruitenbeek; Skerla, Thomson, Wilson; Bullen (Dempsey 59), Nicholson (Dair 59), Kilgannon (McGroarty 71), Mason, Hampshire; Crawford, Brewster
UNUSED SUBS Walker, Stillie
RANGERS
Klos; Muscat, Malcolm, Moore, Numan; Ricksen, Ferguson (Konterman 81), De Boer (Dodds 77), Arteta (Hughes 71); Caniggia, Arveladze
UNUSED SUBS McGregor, Ross
REFEREE Dougie McDonald