Rangers 4 - 0 Hibernian: Sone Aluko comes to fore in Ibrox stroll

THE loss of Steven Naismith to injury remains the defining moment of Rangers’ season so far, and the potential departure of Nikica Jelavic threatens to have a similar effect on what is left of their campaign.

But the acquisition of Sone Aluko, apparently no more than a makeweight when he joined, is taking on a significance which is at least beginning to counterbalance the contribution made by those two players.

Aluko’s ability to pose a threat from out wide was a factor in Ally McCoist’s signing him, as it meant he could fill a similar role to Naismith. On Saturday, however, with Jelavic absent because of injury, the manager played him in a more central role, and he weighed in with the pass which produced Rangers’ first goal and a fine direct free-kick for their third.

When McCoist claimed just a couple of weeks after signing him that Aluko had already become a valuable player, the remark was perhaps more an attempt to boost the player’s confidence than an accurate assessment of his worth. If so, it seems to have worked, as the 22-year-old is now showing the self-belief which was often missing at Aberdeen.

The fact he has better players around him at Ibrox is a help, of course, as was in this game the inept performance of the Hibernian defence. James McPake, given the captain’s armband on his debut for the Edinburgh club, made their back four look more solid, and was unfortunate to be sent off 20 minutes from the end for a second yellow card. But he had unnecessarily put himself under pressure by collecting a first booking after only six minutes, when he pulled back Aluko after an elusive turn by the Rangers player.

Tom Soares, the other player signed on loan by Hibs last week, was given a wide midfield role, where he struggled to become involved. He might have been used to more effect in the middle of the park, where, as McCoist said later, Steven Davis and Maurice Edu soon became dominant.

“I thought our two central midfielders were outstanding, which allowed Aluko to play as well,” he stated. “I thought he did very well first half in that wee area behind the striker, and in the second half when we brought him out on the right-hand side he was equally good.

“He’s certainly a crowd-pleaser and he’s not just talented, he’s brave. That’s important for somebody of his size, because often boys of that size will get kicked and bullied off the ball and not really fancy it.

“But he takes it and continues to get fouled to get us free-kicks in dangerous areas, then always comes back again. He’s been a breath of fresh air.”

McCoist also rightly acknowledged that his defence had been below their best, and on another day could have been punished for some lapses. Not long after McPake’s initial booking, for instance, they were caught flat-footed by a Soares pass, and only some hesitation by Eoin Doyle allowed Kyle Bartley to get back and block.

Playing up front on his own because of the suspensions of Leigh Griffiths and Garry O’Connor, Doyle struggled to make an impact. Ivan Sproule was more of a threat from wide left, but he and his team-mates lacked the quality needed to convert the few chances they created into goals.

The difference in the abilities of the teams was highlighted most glaringly midway through the first half.

At one end, Spoule broke up the left and cut into the box, but Allan McGregor eventually mopped up the danger. At the other, just 30 seconds or so later, a pass from Aluko found Davis, who carried on into the box before coolly slotting his shot low past Mark Brown. There had not been much between the teams in the first half, but Hibs’ inability to make their half-chances count meant that a second goal would be the end of their hopes of going home with a point. That goal duly arrived less than ten minutes into the second half, when Sean O’Hanlon was short with a back-header to Brown, and amidst the confusion David Healy was able to slot home from 15 yards.

O’Hanlon was substituted not long after that howler, and then Hibs lost McPake for an aerial challenge on Edu which was harshly deemed to merit a booking. Aluko scored direct from the free-kick, and Rangers were able to stroll through the remainder of the game.

McCoist, who had already brought Mervan Celik off the bench for his debut with the score at 2-0, threw Salim Kerkar on for the final dozen minutes. Neither man did anything too notable,though, and it was left to Davis to complete the scoring in stoppage time when a pass from Lee Wallace found him on the right of the box and he shot home off the far post.

With Celtic inactive, the convincing win returned Rangers to within a point of the top while Hibs remain a point off the bottom, their only consolation coming from Dunfermline’s failure to take anything from their game against Aberdeen.