Rangers 1 - 0 Inverness CT

League Match
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011, 7:45 PM at Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
Attendance: 41,623
Referee: Craig Thomson
Rangers Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Steven Davis (45) None.

Team Managers
Walter Smith Terry Butcher

Starting Eleven
Allan McGregor
Steven Whittaker
Andy Webster
David Weir
Richard Foster
Steven Davis
Lee McCulloch
Jamie Ness
Vladimir Weiss
Kyle Lafferty
James Beattie
Ryan Esson
Ross Tokely
Grant Munro
Chris Innes
Nick Ross
Graeme Shinnie
Stuart Duff
Adam Rooney
Richie Foran
Eric Odhiambo
Dani Sanchez

Bench
Neil Alexander
Jordan McMillan
Gregg Wylde
Maurice Edu
John Fleck
Nikica Jelavic
Salim Kerkar
Jonny Tuffey
Stuart Golabek
David Proctor
Roy McBain
Russell Duncan
Gil Blumenshtein
Shane Sutherland

Substitutions
John Fleck => Vladimir Weiss (59)
Nikica Jelavic => James Beattie (59)
Maurice Edu => Jamie Ness (80)
Shane Sutherland for Dani Sanchez (70)
David Proctor for Adam Rooney (83)

Bookings
Nikica Jelavic (65) Eric Odhiambo (30)
Richie Foran (69)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Ryan Esson (GK) 94 apps -
Chris Innes 8 apps -
Ross Tokely 541 apps34 goals
Grant Munro 354 apps16 goals
Graeme Shinnie 23 apps -
Stuart Duff 23 apps1 goal
Nick Ross 37 apps1 goal
Richie Foran 77 apps22 goals
Dani Sanchez 46 apps8 goals
Eric Odhiambo 60 apps11 goals
Adam Rooney 107 apps47 goals
David Proctor (sub) 142 apps8 goals
Shane Sutherland (sub) 23 apps -

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Stuart Duff (29 years 2 days)
Oldest Player:Chris Innes (2012 years 172 days)
Average Player Age:30 years 213 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Shane Sutherland (20 years 92 days)
Oldest Player:Chris Innes (2012 years 172 days)
Average Player Age:27 years 55 days
Domestic Players:18 (100.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Rangers moved to within two points of Scottish Premier League leaders Celtic with a narrow win over Inverness.

The visitors came close to an opener when Richie Foran's header was touched onto the bar by keeper Allan McGregor.

Steven Davis lashed home the only goal of the game to give Rangers the lead on the stroke of half-time.

Graeme Shinnie made goal-line clearances to deny Kyle Lafferty and Nikica Jelavic as the Highlanders kept their hosts at bay in the second half.

The Ibrox side still have two games in hand over Celtic while Inverness remain fifth in the table.

The Rangers squad did not feature top scorer Kenny Miller, who is on the verge of a move to Turkish side Bursaspor, and James Beattie and Lafferty led the attack for the home side.


And the strike pair were prominent in the opening minutes of the match.

Beattie's cross was spilled by Inverness goalkeeper Ryan Esson and was scrambled away to safety by the visitors' defence before Lafferty could profit.

Moments later, Davis's cross was dummied by Beattie and Lafferty flicked the ball over.

Inverness began to impose themselves on the game and Adam Rooney's low shot was collected by Allan McGregor before the Highlanders almost took the lead at a corner.

Shinnie's corner was headed goalwards by Foran and McGregor touched the ball onto the crossbar before Steven Whittaker cleared to safety.

Rooney then got in ahead of his marker to meet Eric Odhiambo's cross but could not keep his shot down.

Vladimir Weiss tried to get Rangers going again and forced Esson into a fine save with a shot from distance.

Rangers striker Nikica Jelavic is booked by referee Craig Thomson
Jelavic was booked on his return from long-term injury
From the corner, Weiss's poor delivery was played back into the six-yard box by David Weir but Lafferty could not direct his header on target.

Lafferty had two further efforts, both shots from the edge of the box, but was wide on each occasion as Rangers exerted pressure towards the interval.

And the hosts found the breakthrough right on half-time when Lafferty's initial shot was blocked and the ball fell to Davis on the edge of the box and the midfielder planted a shot into the bottom corner.

However, Inverness were unhappy that a free-kick had not been awarded to them in the run-up to the goal following Andy Webster's challenge on Rooney.

Nikica Jelavic, out since October, made his comeback from an ankle injury as a replacement for Beattie 14 minutes into the second half with John Fleck also came off the bench in place of Weiss as Rangers looked for fresh impetus.

And Jelavic was booked for simulation within minutes of his arrival after going down in the Inverness box.


Shinnie came to Inverness's rescue twice in a matter of seconds, clearing Lafferty's attempt off the line and then blocking Jelavic's effort onto the post.

The Rangers substitutes combined when Fleck found Jelavic with an incisive pass but, though the striker controlled well, he skewed his shot wide.

Lafferty then drew a save from Esson after cutting in from the left to take a shot.

Jelavic scooped a shot over the bar at the end of a breakaway attack as Rangers continued to press for a clinching goal.

Inverness put Rangers under pressure with some late set pieces but could not find the opening for a leveller.

Match report written by Mr BBC Sport



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Celtic 21 15 4 2 45 14 31 49
2. Rangers 19 15 2 2 44 19 25 47
3. Hearts 20 13 3 4 35 16 19 42
4. Kilmarnock 21 9 4 8 34 24 10 31
5. Inverness CT 22 7 7 8 30 27 3 28
6. Motherwell 20 7 4 9 24 25 -1 25
7. Dundee Utd 17 6 6 5 20 23 -3 24
8. St. Johnstone 19 6 4 9 14 26 -12 22
9. Aberdeen 20 6 2 12 21 38 -17 20
10. Hibernian 20 4 4 12 21 35 -14 16
11. St. Mirren 20 4 4 12 17 35 -18 16
12. Hamilton Academical 19 2 6 11 12 35 -23 12