Aberdeen played host to Rangers holding a two-point
advantage in second position, with the game the first
sell-out at Pittodrie in ten years. Indeed it has been
even longer than that since any ground in the Scottish
League held a crowd in excess of 20,000 with the
obvious exception of the “Old Firm”.
Manager Paul Le Guen made one change from Sunday with
Sasa Papac replacing the injured Steven Smith.
Rangers were all out for an early goal and forced two
corners in the opening two minutes, both taken on the
right by Charlie Adam. The first found Nacho Novo at
the far post, his header being held by home goalkeeper
Jamie Langfield at the second attempt - the
second, partially cleared, being met on the volley by
Libor Sionko whose effort flashed just wide.
The Dons responded in kind - Darren
Mackie's surging tenth minute run from a Chris
Clark pass ending with a strike from the edge of the
penalty area that came back off an upright.
The visitors had the bulk of the pressure however
- three minutes later a clever dummy by Dado
Prso from a Papac pass found Novo who shot over.
The opener arrived in 21 minutes however - Novo
scooping the ball into the net from Sionko's
pass.
That goal was the catalyst for the expulsion from the
ground of three Rangers' fans located in the
Main Stand whose only crime was to support their team.
Unbelievably the police and stewards allowed Aberdeen
thugs to attack the three fans as they were led away.
Two minutes later incredibly it was 2-0, with the same
combination doing the business - Sionko rifling
Novo's cutback home.
Aberdeen were shell-shocked at the loss of these two
goals - the first they have conceded in the
opening 45 minutes of a game since the opening day of
the season.
A sustained period of home pressure in the run-up to
the interval ended when Lee Miller struck the post
from a Mackie through-ball, but it was Rangers who
ended the half on the attack - Sionko being
denied by Langfield from a Novo pass.
Filip Sebo replaced Prso ten minutes after the restart
as Aberdeen strived to fight their way back into the
game - and Lee Miller might have reduced the
deficit on the hour when he shot straight at Allan
McGregor from a cutback from former Ranger Barry
Nicholson.
The home side held much more territorial possession
than in the first-half, yet Rangers appeared to have
the measure of their opponents, retaining possession
and denying them any clear-cut openings.
Gavin Rae replaced Novo in eighty minutes - and
ninety seconds later Charlie Adam almost sealed the
win when his wide-angled twenty-yarder from a Barry
Ferguson pass was held by Langfield.
The Dons snatched a lifeline in 83 minutes when an
error by Rae gifted Mackie an opening that was
blocked, the rebound falling to Steve Lovell who
netted from close range, although the goal should
certainly have been chalked off because of a foul on
the Ibrox goalkeeper.
A nerve-wracking closing seven minutes had to be
endured but Rangers kept their heads for a superb win,
even surviving a scarcely-credible four additional
minutes that were enforced by Referee Dougie McDonald.
Afterwards a relaxed Le Guen reflected:
“I am delighted with the win and with the spirit
of our team. Our momentum is building with every
game.”
ABERDEEN Langfield; Hart, Anderson, Considine (Lovell
61), Foster; J. Smith (Diamond 45), Nicholson, Severin
(Maguire 74), Clark; Mackie, Miller
UNUSED SUBS Soutar, Dempsey, Touzami, Smith
RANGERS McGregor; Hutton, Hemdani, Svensson, Papac;
Sionko, Ferguson, Clement, Adam; Prso (Sebo 55), Novo
(Rae 80)
UNUSED SUBS Klos, Buffel, Rodriguez, Stanger, Lowing
REFEREE Dougie McDonald