Rangers 4 - 2 Gretna Sun 24/02/08

Daniel Cousin (13)
Steven Naismith (22)
Chris Burke (60)
Kris Boyd (88)

Daniel Cousin netted what could be his final goal for Rangers to set Walter Smith's side on the way to a comfortable 4-2 win against Gretna on the manager's 60th birthday.

The striker should finally learn this week whether his protracted £3million move to Fulham will be sanctioned by FIFA but he made the most of his involvement at Ibrox in this game.

His opener was followed by goals from Steven Naismith, Chris Burke and Kris Boyd, with Kenny Deuchar's double for Gretna never threatening to prevent Rangers from maintaining their four-point lead over Celtic at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

The three gift-wrapped points were the ideal present for Smith, given Celtic's win at St Mirren.

While spirits were high in the Ibrox camp, it had been a week of turmoil for Gretna. A brain infection had left owner Brooks Mileson too ill in hospital to pay players and staff, prompting rumours of the club being plunged into administration.

Manager Davie Irons then quit for Morton, leaving director of football Mick Wadsworth to take charge of team affairs and somehow attempt to bridge the gap between themselves and second-bottom Kilmarnock.

News that Mileson had been released from hospital on Thursday raised spirits at Gretna, and they arrived in Glasgow having been told their overdue wages were on the way, and with the club's future looking more secure.

Before Ioannis Goumas scored for Panathinaikos in Thursday's 1-1 UEFA Cup draw, Rangers had not conceded a goal for 775 minutes - the last had been against Gretna in the 2-1 win last month - and Smith deployed an attack-minded team against the Black and Whites.

Jean-Claude Darcheville returned from suspension and Steven Whittaker recovered from injury to start the game, along with Burke and Naismith.

But the name on the team-sheet which raised most eyebrows was that of Cousin.

The striker had made a couple of substitute appearances recently but this was his first start since the 1-0 win at Inverness on January 20.

Four days earlier, he netted the winner in the hard-fought midweek match against Gretna and he was on the scoresheet against the SPL strugglers again today.

Burke had failed with a penalty claim and Carlos Cuellar had nodded wide from a corner before Cousin sparked the game into life with the opener after 13 minutes.

He pounced on a header from captain Barry Ferguson and left marker Danny Hall in his wake before rounding goalkeeper Greg Fleming and slotting home from a tight angle.

There was worse to come for Gretna when Rangers doubled their advantage with 22 minutes on the clock, and Ferguson was the provider again.

This time the delivery came from a corner and Naismith was waiting unmarked in front of goal to bury a shot on the turn from a few yards out.

Gretna's players were asked to show a remarkable amount of resilience this week and that mental toughness was also evident on the park as they bravely attempted to mount a fightback before half-time.

Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor was forced to dive low to his left to smother a free-kick from Nicky Deverdics from the edge of the area, before Paul Murray's header smacked off the post.

Gretna continued to cause problems after the restart when Deuchar threw himself in front of Brendan McGill's cross only to glance wide of the upright.

Despite their hard work, there appeared to be no way back for the visitors when Rangers claimed their third of the day after an hour.

Darcheville did well to cut inside from the left flank before setting up Burke to rifle the ball into the roof of the net to all but seal the win.

Rangers then made a double switch with Cousin and Darcheville withdrawn for Boyd and Nacho Novo, while Gretna replaced Murray and John Paul Kissock with Ben Wilkinson and Mikael Buscher.

Gretna gave themselves a glimmer of hope with 19 minutes remaining when substitute Buscher's corner was met by Deuchar, who nodded home from six yards.

Buscher then had a go himself with a powerful effort which was only prevented from leaving the net bulging by a great save from McGregor.

Two goals followed in quick succession. Boyd rounded the goalkeeper to bag his 17th of the season with three minutes to go, before Deuchar nodded home his second of the day 60 seconds later.

Despite a battling performance from Gretna, Rangers held on for the win to keep their noses in front of Celtic.

RANGERS: McGregor, Broadfoot, Cuellar, Weir, Whittaker, Ferguson, Davis, Burke, Darcheville (Novo 61), Cousin (Boyd 61),Naismith,

Subs Not Used: Alexander , Dailly, Faye, Furman, Fleck,

Ref: C Murray

Man-of-the-match: Davis

Attendance: 48,375