Rangers 1 - 0 Hibernian: McCoist’s impressive start to SPL campaign is the best since Struth

HIS chairman may hanker for a playing environment beyond Scottish borders, but for Ally McCoist the SPL is proving to be the perfect place in which to forge his credentials as Rangers manager.

Not since 1920, when the legendary Bill Struth began his peerless reign at the Ibrox club, has a newcomer to the post started a league season as successfully as McCoist. By coincidence, McCoist mirrored Struth’s record of nine wins and a draw from his first ten championship fixtures with a 1-0 home win over Hibs.

He has some way to go to match the most illustrious previous occupant of his office, Struth having remained unbeaten in his first 23 league games, but McCoist is already able to draw significant encouragement from the way his team have opened their title defence.

First hurdle exits from the Champions League, Europa League and League Cup have constituted painful and costly setbacks in the opening months of McCoist’s tenure, but his record in the SPL, the competition which remains key to an Old Firm manager’s job security, is impressive so far.

In reeling off nine consecutive victories following the 1-1 draw at home to Hearts on the opening day, Rangers have kept eight clean sheets and carried the look of a side grimly intent on ensuring the SPL trophy remains in their club’s possession for a fourth consecutive season.

They were certainly forced to work hard for their latest win against a Hibs team who maintained their recent signs of improvement despite suffering a first defeat in six games. There was a greater degree of solidity and tactical discipline about Colin Calderwood’s side which strengthened the impression that the recruitment of Billy Brown as his assistant may prove a smart move by the Easter Road club.

Had they been able to take advantage of a couple of premium goalscoring opportunities while the match was still goalless, Hibs may well have headed back along the M8 with something tangible to show for their efforts. With the game very much in the balance at the start of the second half, Paul Hanlon should have done better than head Martin Scott’s cross over from close range. Junior Agogo was next to spurn a glorious opening, latching on to Garry O’Connor’s clever pass, but placing his shot too close to Allan McGregor who was able to make a fine save.

But despite those missed chances, as Calderwood was frank enough to admit, Hibs could still have no real complaint about the eventual outcome of the contest. Rangers, without reaching any great heights, dominated possession for much of the afternoon and scorned enough opportunities of their own to have won by a far more comfortable margin.

Their lack of a ruthless streak in front of goal included a missed penalty kick in first half stoppage time, Hibs goalkeeper Graham Stack fortunate to escape any further punishment from referee Stevie O’Reilly for taking down Kyle Lafferty as the big striker took the ball beyond him in the area.

An argument with Nikica Jelavic over who should be on duty from the spot seemed to unnerve Steven Whittaker and the full-back, who has been the club’s regular penalty taker since Kenny Miller’s departure at the start of the year, blazed his effort high into the Broomloan Road Stand.

The half-time introduction of Jamie Ness for the ineffectual Alejandro Bedoya brought greater fluency to Rangers’ work. The 20-year-old midfielder, whose development has been blighted by growing pains and a series of injuries, was making his first appearance since limping out of the match at Inverness in August with a hip problem.

Ness, blessed with a fine first touch of the ball which is so maddeningly rare among Scottish players these days, displayed an impressive range of passing which kept Rangers on the front foot for most of the second half.

He was involved in the build-up to the match-winning goal in the 68th minute which culminated in Gregg Wylde’s chipped cross into the penalty area, the ball falling to Lafferty who bundled it home from close range.

“We tried to up the tempo as it was a bit slow in the first half and I felt we did that,” reflected Ness. “We missed a few chances, but always had the confidence we would get a goal. I’ve been desperate to get back in the team, but knew I couldn’t rush things. I’ve done that before, so this time I listened to the physios and doctors.”

Hibs’ frustration in defeat got the better of Ivan Sproule, the winger responding to his substitution with 15 minutes remaining by angrily throwing away a training top handed to him as he reached the technical area beside Calderwood. The 30-year-old Ulsterman regretted his show of petulance.

“I was just frustrated because I wanted the team to win and felt if I could get in behind Rangers one more time, I could hurt them,” said Sproule. “We can be proud of our performance. Even though we lost, I felt we kept our good run going.”