Red-hot Rangers emerge from Premiership cold storage with Todd Cantwell scorcher to blast past Hibs - 3 talking points

Red-hot Rangers emerged from Premiership cold storage to get a 3-0 win over Hibs at Easter Road that could see them really turn the heat up on leaders Celtic as they cut the gap to five points at the top of the table.

Philippe Clement’s dominant Light Blues side picked up three points with minimum fuss in a busy start to 2024. The trip to the capital was the first of two games in hand over their rivals and Ridvan Yilmaz and Todd Cantwell, who went off at half time with what looked like an injury, struck in the first half with substitute Cyriel Dessers netting a third as Gers follwed up the weekend Scottish Cup win over Dumbarton with another victory to start the new year.

Hibs were the first threaten after Elie Youan used his electric pace in a rapid counter attack from the home side but Jack Butland got down to make a smart save at his near post to deny the Frenchman a quickfire opener. At the other end Fabio Silva, on his first start for the Light Blues, fired just the wrong side of the post from Rabbi Matondo’s cross. But the deadlock was broken right on the half hour mark and it came from an unlikely source as Yilmaz noted only his second goal for the club. It was a brilliant finish from the Turkish full back but it was all about the pass from John Lundstram with an exquisite lofted ball for the ex Besiktas man who then shot beyond David Marshall.

It was just what the visitors needed and probably just deserved on the balance of play but they still needed Butland to again show his quality at the other end as the Englishman denied Jair Tavares. Youan then headed just wide from Joe Newell’s free kick as they looked for the leveller before Marshall denied James Tavernier right on half time, albeit the flag had gone up for offside against Todd Cantwell.

Moments earlier Cantwell looked like his game might have been over as he appeared to pull up just before he was sandwiched by Youan and Kanayo Megwa that sent him flying into Nick Montgomery and floored the Hibs gaffer.

But the ex Norwich City man recovered and that proved crucial for the Ibrox side as he fired in the second for the visitors. Ross McCausland did well in the build up before shifting it to Cantwell and he sent a rocket shot beyond a helpless Marshall.

Cantwell failed to reappear for the second half, suggesting he was in fact injured, with Tom Lawrence and Dujon Sterling on as Nico Raskin also stayed inside. Hibs needed a fast start and almost got it with Butland again coming to the rescue as he denied Myziane Maolida a debut goal. Substitute Dessers netted just second after coming on as he capitalised on horrible Hibs defensive play as Will Fish and Marshall made a mess of it at the back, Matondo nipped in and fed Dessers to make sure of the win. And the home side had the offside flag to thank for the damage not being even worse when substitute Tom Lawrence’s goal was disallowed.

Here’s three talking points from the capital.

Maybe Gers won’t get Rid

Speculation has been rife that Ridvan Yilmaz will be heading for the Ibrox exit during this January transfer window, albeit Philippe Clement warned neither he or Borna Barisic will be going anywhere without a replacement left back. The Turk hasn’t lived up to expectations and has been linked with both Verona and a return to his homeland with Galatasaray.

Rangers’ Ridvan Yilmaz celebrates after making it 1-0 against Hibs

But the ex Besiktas man, who cost an initial £3.4 million which could rise to £5.3m, showed that he definitely has quality. He took his goal brilliantly but his strike aside, Yilmaz was impressive and might just have won over a few doubters.

Impressed yet, Lenny?

Philippe Clement admitted Neil Lennon had done a bit of his team talk for him when he questioned whether Rangers had the mentality to become champions. In the former Celtic and Hibs manager’s defence, he did say they had ‘squash the hold’ the Hoops had over them and they haven’t yet doe that. But there’s no doubt there was real pressure on the Ibrox side to win this first of two games in hand over Celtic and they showed a strong mentality to get the job done with minimum fuss.

Hibs horror home run continues against Gers

Nick Montgomery was playing with a makeshift back four due to injuries so it was always going to be a tough task for a side who had toiled to get past lowly Forfar Athletic in the Scottish Cup just a few days earlier. And their record against Rangers at Easter Road certainly isn’t one that pointed to a home win – they hadn’t recorded a victory over the Hibees in the top flight in just over SEVENTEEN YEARS. That came when Chris Killen netted a double for Tony Mowbray’s men against Paul Le Guen’s side. But the home side were disappointing even allowing for the personnel problems and Montgomery needs to show an improvement in the second half of the season.