Dodds emerges out of the blue

ALEX McLEISH has been preaching the merits of hard work and application lately, a need to go back to basics if you like. His team responded with a good old-fashioned whipping of Hibs at Ibrox yesterday which was reminiscent of better days and secured them a place in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup and given the carrot of a semi-final place after being pulled out of the bag last night to visit Forfar.

Traditionalists were even celebrating an appearance, and goal, by that forgotten Scot, Billy Dodds. Rangers were already 3-1 up and coasting when the little substitute prodded in a fourth five minutes from the end. It was no peach, mind you. He chested down a cross by Shota Arveladze, swung a right boot that connected only with fresh air and somehow found himself with another chance. The striker was not about to squander it.

It completed a satisfactory afternoon for Rangers who had been cruising through two goals by Tore Andre Flo, returning after a flu bug, and one by Peter Lovenkrands. The pity was that a crowd of only 25,000, perhaps knackered by four matches in a week, were there to witness it. Dick Advocaat is not the only one who has gone part-time.

Rangers started well, had their buoyancy punctured by an unexpected equaliser and gradually recovered to regain their rhythm and see out the match in style.

It was another miserable day for Franck Sauzee. Hibs have won only one of their last 18 matches, and have beaten only Stranraer since the Frenchman became manager last month. The Edinburgh club have not won at Ibrox since September of 1995 and there was never any sign that the sequence was about to end.

McLeish can be excused for casting an anxious glance at his calendar over the next few days. He knows that he must sign someone before Thursday, the European transfer deadline, if the player is to be eligible for next month’s UEFA Cup tie against Feyenoord. That the latest name to be linked with Ibrox is Harol Lozano, a 29-year-old Colombian midfielder with Real Valladolid, serves only to confirm the area in which new blood is most urgent.

In the middle of the park yesterday, Rangers again partnered Barry Ferguson with Bert Konterman, despite the Dutchman’s culpability for at least one of the two goals conceded at East End Park in midweek. That McLeish is not exactly inspired by his presence was apparent on Friday when he refused to elaborate on the player’s strengths and weaknesses. "Suffice it to say he is in the team," said McLeish. "It must mean that he is the best man for that particular role on that particular day." In other words, there is no alternative.

At least the Dutchman is surrounded by players in form. Despite the muddy conditions Ferguson was inspiring with his ability to find room and pick out team-mates. Lorenzo Amoruso, meanwhile, can do no wrong with his majestic strut and rabble-rousing incursions upfield. Even when the Italian was nearly robbed of possession by Hibs substitute Derek Riordan, he turned to offer Stefan Klos a glare the keeper did not dare argue with.

The goal that earned Rangers the lead that their early swagger merited was of intricate execution. When Fernando Ricksen slung a low pass into Arveladze’s feet, the Georgian was aware enough of those around him to step over the ball and present Flo with a better chance. The Norwegian, seeking his 20th goal of the season strode on to it and hit it inside the post with his right instep.

It was enough to suggest that a procession was under way. The crowd, swelling with Amoruso’s chest as he surged into the midfield, screamed "cumorerrbigman" with all the gusto of Stanley Baxter in his pomp. And Ronald De Boer, once again a probing presence behind the front two, nearly scored with a curling effort that shaved the stanchion after Gary Smith had been humiliated by the Dutchman’s brilliant turn.

No wonder the Hibs fans, 1,600 of whom made the trip from Edinburgh, were raucous in their celebration of a quick equaliser.

When Ulises De la Cruz headed a pass by Matthias Jack into the path of Grant Brebner, the former Reading midfielder had no hesitation in thumping an angled shot across Stefan Klos and into the far corner.

Brebner’s impatient blast, thrashed in with an angry swipe of his right boot, stemmed the tide that hitherto had threatened to engulf Hibs and prompted an unbridled response from the travelling support. One or two of them spilled on to the track in what, for one brief moment, brought to mind events at Pittodrie the week before. McLeish, a traitor in the eyes of his former admirers, must wonder whether he will ever escape ill feeling.

The former Hibs manager is better placed than most to assess the qualities of De la Cruz who, despite rampaging down the flank with the kind of pace and power that was thought to be the preserve of Didier Agathe, has been lambasted lately for his defensive shortcomings.

It is perhaps no coincidence that Rangers restored their advantage with a move that exploited a trail blazed by the Ecuador international.

Sumptuous though Ferguson’s searching pass was, the odds were against De Boer catching it as the ball picked up speed on the greasy surface and accelerated down the left flank towards the byeline. Somehow, though, the sliding Dutchman hooked it across the six-yard box and looked up to see Lovenkrands rushing in to sidefoot it beyond Nick Colgan.

The goal that killed off Hibs was delivered with all the subtlety of a blunt instrument. Amoruso rose to flap his hirsute head at a Ricksen corner, the ball flopped down towards the goal-line and Flo, even accounting for his lack of confidence, could not miss from two yards.

Taken from the Scotsman