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Hibernian 0 - 3 Rangers

Kenny Miller bagged a clinical hat-trick as Rangers put on a second half performance to erase the memory of a dismal opening forty five minutes.

Both teams finished the game with 10 men after Kyle Lafferty and Kevin McBride were sent off on the stroke of half time as tempers flared.

Hibs were the first of the sides to pose a real attempt in a scrappy first half. Michael Hart laid the ball on a plate for Derek Riordan who scuffed his shot. The ball looped high into the air and fell back to Hart who played a dangerous ball right across the face of goal where Anthony Stokes was waiting to tap in. Allan McGregor showed some amazing reactions though to get a palm on the ball and steer it clear of the Hibs striker.

The game dragged along at an uninspiring rate with both teams having tame penalty claims turned down while Riordan was testing out his shooting boots with a couple of wayward long range efforts.

Eventually the game sparked into life, for the wrong reasons. Allan McGregor collected a low teasing cross and was bumped into by the onrushing Riordan who could not stop his slide. McGregor then exchanged words with the former Celtic man before falling to the ground momentarily holding his face without any contact from Riordan. Referee Ian Brines calmed down the situation before booking McGregor and Riordan as well as booking Liam Miller for dissent in the incident.

Rangers then made their first real chance of the afternoon. Hibs goalkeeper Mark Brown failed to deal with a ball into the box after being put under pressure by James Beattie and his flapped punch away fell to Steve Davis whose diving header was cleared off the line by Sol Bamba.

The match's big flashpoint then happened on the stroke of half time. Kyle Lafferty made a rash tackle on Liam Miller which led to angry confrontations between Lafferty and Kevin McBride after the latter rifled the ball off of Lafferty from close range. Both men were then sent off by referee Brines.

The second half began in a much brighter fashion with Riordan again at the helm of any Hibs attack. The striker again attempted another long range drive that was saved by the chest of Allan McGregor before he pounced on the ball at the second attempt.

It was Rangers turn to attack next and the impressive Steven Naismith found some room out wide before crossing in a delightful ball for Kenny Miller who mistimed his jump before heading the ball over the bar.

Madjid Bougherra showed his worth to the SPL Champions with an amazing clearance five yards out from his own goal.

Hibs substitute Danny Galbraith burst into the box and beat McGregor to the ball and tapped it into the path of Edwin De Graaf five yards out who had the easy task of tapping it into the net. Bougherra however made a last ditch sliding tackle to deny the Dutch striker.

The clearance proved vital as moments later, Rangers took the lead. Sasa Papac picked up the ball on the angle of the box and unleashed a drive that deflected off Chris Hogg and was heading for goal before Brown parried it away. James Beattie was alive to the parry though for Rangers and unselfishly picked out a lovely pass for the advancing Miller who rifled the ball into the top of the Hibernian net to give Rangers the lead.

Then came the moment which turned the game completely in the favour of Rangers when Twenty year old Slovakian World Cup star Vladimir Weiss came on for James Beattie.

The young winger on loan from Manchester City made an instant impact as he picked up the ball before skipping past two challenges and crossing a delightful ball right across the face of goal. An early indication of what was to come from the youngster.

Weiss picked up the ball on the left hand side this time before playing a one-two with Steven Davis. He showed great class to control the ball before calmly picking out Kenny Miller with the pass and the Scottish striker lethally side footed the ball into the back of the net to double Rangers advantage.

Rangers continued to press and could have had a couple more goals if it wasn’t for some great goalkeeping from Mark Brown.

Steven Naismith was the first to test him with a low drive that was heading for the corner of the goal. Maurice Edu then had a point blank bullet header tipped over the bar by Brown as Rangers turned the screw yet again.

The third goal did eventually come for the Light Blues and for Miller who completed his first hat trick of his second spell with the club.

Steven Davis picked out the striker brilliantly with a through ball and he burst through before bulleting a left footed strike past the helpless Brown in the Hibs goal.

Player Ratings

Allan McGregor - Done brilliantly to deny Stokes after 9 minutes. Let himself down with his reaction in the Riordan incident. 7

Steven Whittaker - Impressive performance from the full back. Burst forward at every opportunity to help. 7

David Weir - Solid performance from the veteran. Bossed most of the headed battles with Stokes. 7

Madjid Bougherra - Looked a little bit off the pace on occasions and passing was sloppy at times. Made up for it massively though with last ditch tackle on De Graaf. 7

Sasa Papac - Good defensive performance from the Bosnian. Sloppy in possession though but helped in opener with long range drive. 6

Steven Naismith - Continuing his good form. Ran his socks off and was unlucky to be denied goal by smart Brown save. 9

Steven Davis - First competitive game of the season and looks a little rusty. Came into the game more and more. Fantastic ball for 3rd goal. 7

Maurice Edu - Quiet yet composed performance from the American. Forced good save at the end. 6

Kyle Lafferty - Didn’t make much of an impact before being stupidly sent off. 4

Kenny Miller - Clinical hat trick. Has been asked to step up his game goalscoring wise this season and has 4 goals in 2 games so far. 9

James Beattie - Clearly still lacking in fitness a little but played well. Done brilliant to find Miller for opener. 7

Vladimir Weiss - Dream debut for the loanee. Sensational bit of skill to control Davis’ pass as well as having the composure to pick out Miller for the goal. 8

Man Of The Match - Steven Naismith