Rangers marched six points clear of arch-rivals Celtic with a crucial 1-0 win at Ibrox.
Gers march six points clear after Old Firm success
Kevin Thomson's cool finish on the stroke of half-time proved the difference as Rangers marched six points clear of arch-rivals Celtic with a 1-0 win at Ibrox.
Walter Smith's men look on course to claim the SPL title after Thomson linked up with Jean-Claude Darcheville just a minute before half-time to seal Rangers' 13th consecutive league win.
Celtic had their chances themselves and were unlucky not to take the lead in the 21st minute when the lively Scott Brown was thwarted by Allan McGregor after good play from Georgios Samaras.
Charlie Adam could have sealed the game a minute before full-time after he was sent clear by fellow substitute Nacho Novo, but Artur Boruc was out quickly to snuff the danger.
With arguably more at stake for Celtic, it was the Scottish champions who dominated early on.
Chance squandered
Aiden McGeady's pace left Kirk Broadfoot standing as the winger raced down the left flank before delivering a cross onto the head of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, but the Dutchman squandered the opportunity to give Celtic a dream start by nodding wide at the near post.
At the other end, Lee McCulloch threw himself in front of a Thomson free-kick and drew gasps from the home crowd as his header whistled inches wide of the target.
Celtic cranked up the pressure another notch and dead ball specialist Shunsuke Nakamura stepped up for a free-kick a few yards outside of the area but the effort was poor by his standards and easily smothered by McGregor.
Brown was then wasteful with two superb opportunities. He was released into the box by a lovely pass from Georgios Samaras but stumbled over the ball and his awkward shot came off the body of McGregor before being claimed by the Rangers goalkeeper.
The midfielder then saw a shot from a tight angle crash off the outside of the post, with Samaras again the provider. Brown was left rueing those missed chances when Rangers surged into the lead.
Thomson collected in the middle of the park before racing into the box and exchanging a one-two with Darcheville before despatching an angled drive past Boruc from just outside the six-yard box.
Superb save
After the break, Vennegoor of Hesselink saw his header from a Nakamura free-kick held on the line, before McGregor pulled off a superb fingertip save to send a smart 25-yard shot from Andreas Hinkel over the crossbar.
The game came to a painful end for Thomson when he fell under challenge from Samaras on the edge of the box and he left the pitch on a stretcher, paving the way for Adam's introduction.
Novo could have put the game beyond Celtic, latching onto Naismith's through ball only to see his swerving shot confidently plucked out of the air by Boruc, who then pulled off a fantastic save to deny Adam.
His efforts proved to be in vain though as Rangers held on for a crucial win.
