Rangers' bandwagon creaked back into domestic action following banishment from
Europe with a welcome victory over Motherwell.
But this was a stuttering performance from the champions, who left the pitch
hoping Celtic would slip up later at Dundee.
Goals from Bert Konterman and Barry Ferguson earned the points and that was a
cause for relief as much as jubilation for the 46,000 crowd who had witnessed
their favourites toil against ordinary, if spirited, opposition.
Only the performance of Michael Mols stood out as a beacon of hope that this
really could end up as their season once again.
Dick Advocaat had rung the changes following Thursday's UEFA Cup exit at
Kaiserslautern and well he might after that dismal no-show.
Lorenzo Amoruso, Arthur Numan and Claudio Reyna were suspended anyway and
Kenny Miller, Rod Wallace and Tugay were discarded, the first two altogether and
the latter on to the bench.
In came Mols and Neil McCann, the two second half substitutes at the
Fritz-Walter Stadium plus skipper Ferguson and winger Allan Johnston, now
recovered after two months out with a broken toe.
Tony Vidmar was the final newcomer, at left back, as Advocaat reverted to his
preferred 4-4-2 formation.
But Motherwell had clearly come to frustrate the fallen champions and not just
by defending in numbers, as so many Ibrox visitors in the past had done.
They were stubborn and occasionally ruthless in the tackle yet passed the ball
too, with right winger Kevin Twaddle often involved.
There were plenty of nervy moments in the home defence before the break but
all the good chances came at the other end.
And almost all of those came courtesy of Mols, whose knee problems are clearly
hampering him still. But that ability to turn on the ball, which sets him so far
apart from other front men in this country, is still there and three times he
used it to set up chances that could, and perhaps should, have been converted.
Konterman provided a 50-yard ball for the first and Mols' turn and lay back
was inviting for Johnston, who let fly with both posts gleaming.
But out of nowhere came Tore Andre Flo, the sixth change from Thursday, to
block his own team-mate's shot and it was the Norseman's only real contribution,
if it can be called that, before he was forced off before the half hour mark
with an unspecified knock that had prompted an inquiry to the medical staff on
the bench earlier on.
Mols then twisted and twirled in the penalty area to set up Jorg Albertz not
once but twice within a minute.
Shooting is the big German's forte but on both occasions he ballooned inviting
opportunities high into the Broomloan Stand.
Albertz thought better of a third try and slipped the ball to McCann soon
after only to see the jinky left winger fire across goal and wide.
It looked like a goal would never come but up popped the head of Konterman,
a 33-1 shot to be the first scorer, to record his first Rangers goal.
Truly his website will be overflowing with words this evening.
Motherwell too had to reshuffle their pack early on when Benito Kemble took a
knock and on came Ange Oeiufio.
With Steven McMillan and Derek Townsley out with viruses, ex-Ranger Billy
Davies had given a debut to 21-year-old Keith Lasley.
He was an unknown to most of the crowd but no so another change - Andy Goram -
who regained his post between the sticks at Stevie Woods' expense.
The second half was notable for its spectacular lack of quality with barely a
decent chance being created until Ferguson's stunning clincher, which, unlike
Konterman's opener, belonged to a much more memorable afternoon than this one.
Earlier, Albertz had made one chance for himself, robbing Martyn Corrigan, but
like in Germany on Thursday he strode on to be denied a goal, although this time
it was his inaccurate shooting that was to blame, not the goalkeeper.
Johnston jinked, McCann took people on and crossed when he could but only Mols
used the ball to any great effect.
That was until the 78th minute of course when Ferguson simultaneously woke up
and killed off the game with an excellent goal. Tugay floated the ball in from
the left and the young captain charged into the box to plant a header that Goram
could only watch bounce in.
Rangers could then allow themselves the luxury of handing a league debut to
young Ulsterman Steven Carson.
Teams:
Rangers: Klos, Ricksen, Konterman, Wilson, Vidmar, Ferguson,
McCann, Johnston (Carson 83), Albertz (Dodds 67), Mols,
Flo (Tugay 25).
Subs Not Used: Christensen, Ross.
Booked: Ricksen, Wilson.
Goals: Konterman 39, Ferguson 78.
Motherwell: Goram, Corrigan, Kemble (Oueifio 31), Strong,
Hammell, Leitch (Adams 69), Twaddle (Spencer 72), Lasley,
Brannan, McCulloch, Elliott.
Subs Not Used: Woods, Nicholas.
Booked: Brannan, Twaddle, Oueifio, Corrigan.
Att: 46,058
Ref: T Brown (Scotland).
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