Sunday 28 December 2014 12:52, UK
Rangers began life without Ally McCoist in calamitous fashion as they crashed to a humiliating 4-0 defeat at rejuvenated Hibs in front of a raucous Easter Road.
Hibs had lost just once in 10 league games since winning 3-1 at Ibrox at the end of September and having gone in front after just eight minutes they never looked back - with the excellent Scott Allan dictating matters - as they swatted aside the shell-shocked men in Light Blue.
The home side, who are now four points behind Rangers, made a flying start and when the ball broke to David Gray (8) on the right-hand side of the area, he was afforded the time and space to arrow a right-foot shot into the top corner past the flailing Steve Simonsen.
Rangers had barely had time to regroup before they fell further behind as Allan's deep cross was knocked back across goal by Liam Craig for Jason Cummings - in splendid isolation - to bundle into the empty net.
Ian Black was booked for taking out Allan in the centre circle but there was precious little threat to Mark Oxley in the Hibs' goal, a decent Lee Wallace delivery from the left nothwithstanding.
Cummings warmed Simonsen's gloves as Hibs pressed for a third while Black was replaced by Kyle Hutton as Gers caretaker boss Kenny McDowall looked to inject some lustre into his limp charges.
But Hibs, with Gray a constant threat down the right, were in the ascendancy and it ws no surprise when Scott Robertson (63) made it 3-0 with a composed finish after a simple build-up.
Nicky Law's shot on the turn was cleared off the line by Liam Fontaine as Rangers battled for a toehold but there was to be no respite as the influential Allan teed up birthday-boy Craig (70) for his first of the season to seal the Edinburgh side's biggest win over Rangers for over 100 years.
Thereafter it was party time for the home support as they ran through their full repertoire, serenading their opposite numbers trooping disconsolately for the exits, contemplating falling 15 points behind runaway leaders Hearts.
