Print

Mail

wiki links

Rangers beat Hibernian; Dunfermline now No. 2

Defending champion Rangers twice came from behind and scored three second half goals to beat Hibernian 5-2 in a top-of-the table clash Saturday.

Alan Thompson's penalty late in the first half gave runner-up Celtic a narrow 2-1 win over Partick Thistle.

Michael Mols scored twice for Rangers, who fell behind to Ian Murray and Thomas McManus strikes and had a penalty save from Stefan Klos with the game tied at 2-2 early in the second half.

Mols' 62nd-minute goal gave Rangers a 3-2 lead, and Spanish midfielder Mikael Arteta's shot five minutes later made it 4-2. Chris Burke made sure of the win in the 84th minute. Rangers improved to 3-0 -- the only team with maximum points -- and have now scored a league-best 12 goals.

"It could have been more than five, actually," said Rangers manager Alex McLeish. "Once they got their noses in front, they did knock the ball about well."

McLeish defended his decision to include midfielder Barry Ferguson in the starting lineup. Ferguson said this week he wants to leave the club, a decision that's left many Rangers fans angry.

"I'm the manager. I make the decision on it, and that's that. He is still a Rangers player," said McLeish. "What happens if he doesn't go? What do we do if he doesn't go? Do I leave him out until he does go?"

Paul Lambert opened the scoring for Celtic at Firnhill Stadium. James Grady netted for Partick, which has only one point through three games.

"Partick did very well indeed, and I told the players beforehand we would have to be very, very strong or we would get beaten," said Celtic manager Martin O'Neill, whose team is two points behind Rangers in the standings.

Partick 'keeper Jakup Mikkelsen initially blocked Lambert's shot from 16 yards out, but the ball slid under him and trickled over the line in the eighth minute. Grady took a pass from Gerry Britton and slotted past Rob Douglas to tie the game before Thompson's penalty.

In other games Saturday, Dunfermline beat Aberdeen 2-1 to join Celtic in second place, Dundee downed Livingston 2-1, Hearts beat Dundee United 3-0 and Motherwell beat Kilmarnock 2-1.
This story has been viewed 1675 times.