Rangers 3, Motherwell 0
| Match Date: Sunday, September 16 2001 |
|
| Competition: Scottish Premier League | |
| Attendance: 47,137 | |
| Motherwell Team (3-5-2): |
Brown, Forrest, Ready, Strong, Corrigan, Martinez (Lasley 56), Leitch (Harvey
65), Pearson, Hammell, Elliott, Kelly (Adams 82).
Subs not used: Woods, Adams, Harvey, Lasley, McFadden.
Yellow Cards: Ready, Leitch, Strong, Martinez, Corrigan, Pearson and Lasley
WELL SLUMP TO BOTTOM AFTER RANGERS DEFEAT
Rangers 3 Motherwell 0
A COMBINATION OF WOEFUL REFEREEING, SPECTACULAR DIVING BY RANGERS AND Lack of creativity from Motherwell gave the home side a comfortable victory. Make no mistake, Motherwell were never really close to creating a contest but with Referee McCurry booking anything in claret and amber, and Ronald De Boer falling at every opportunity, there was never going to be anything other than a home win.
However, it was Motherwell who should have taken the lead inside the first minute. Stephen Pearson ran clear on Klos after good work by Elliott but one touch too many allowed Klos to block for a corner which, when delivered, saw Ready adjudged to have fouled the former Dortmund Keeper. The Ibrox sub-aqua club has a few members and one of their number, Flo, made a 9.5 as Hammel challenged to gain a free-kick 12 yards from the line. Corrigan made a good clearing header though Latapy gathered and found De Boer. He was dispossessed by Ready who cleared with the help of Brown in goals. A minute later Brown was called upon to save a Konterman shot after Latapy and Ricksen had combined to set the Dutchman up, Brown gathering at the second attempt. The home side went even closer soon after when McCann went clear on the wing. He cut inside to fire a low angled drive which cracked off the post and was cleared. Motherwell didn't help their own cause when they gave the ball away 25 yards out, De Boer finding Flo and his low shot was parried expertly by Brown who gathered. Motherwell burst upfield and threatened briefly, Strong finding Elliott but the cross found Moore instead of Kelly and he hurriedly booted away. The Fir Parkers should have had a free-kick near the box when Konterman brought Kelly crashing down but despite the protests Referee McCurry waved play on. Moore picked up and he fed Ricksen, the resultant shot going well wide. Moore was making room for himself and shortly afterwards he gave Ross the chance out wide. Cutting in the young full-back found Latapy but the shot found the stand. The home side had a great chance to take the lead on 18 minutes courtesy of Referee McCurry. What looked a 50/50 between Strong and De Boer turned into a penalty when the Dutchman fell like a pack of cards. After taking his time to think about it McCurry pointed to the spot. Karl Ready took great offence and was lucky not to see red as he pushed De Boer, who in turn walked upfield with a huge grin on his face. Scott Leitch also saw yellow for his vocal displeasure at the injustice; however, justice was seen to be done when Latapy saw his penalty brilliantly saved by Brown. That was the first of many De Boer dramatics, minutes later he succeeded in having Martinez booked after an innocuous trip became an attempt at maiming. Then three minutes later Strong was also booked with again De Boer making the very most of his fall. Latapy then decided to get in on the act when he lost out in a challenge with Hammel, and if it was no foul then surely a yellow should have been waved in Latapy's direction. Motherwell were finding it very difficult to put anything constructive together but one good piece of play from Elliott carved out an opening. His pass out wide was met by Corrigan but the cross saw Konterman beat Kelly. Minutes later Elliott drove a ball across the 6-yard box only inches beyond Kelly and Martinez return ball was cleared by Moore. Rangers then began to attack with menace and Numan's run to the by line saw a dangerous cross headed over by Flo. The Norwegian's next opportunity was to count, however. Corrigan was slow to react to the cross in from Latapy and Flo toe-poked the ball in at the far post from 16 yards out. A Minute later Ricksen came within inches of doubling the advantage from 25 yards. Four minutes from the interval there was a booking for Rangers, Ross seeing yellow for a studs-in challenge on Kelly which was quite disgraceful. Two minutes later the only real legitimate claim for a penalty was ignored by McCurry, a push by Ready on De Boer being waved away much to the anger of the home support. Just prior to the break Brown got down to hold an angled drive from Vidmar.
Half-Time: Rangers 1 Motherwell 0
The home side made a change at the interval, replacing Ross with Ferguson. A bad pass-back by Leitch put Motherwell under pressure at the off and it took a great block from Forrest to stop De Boer going close. An unchallenged run by Latapy then took him to the 18 yard line and his pass to Flo was too strong and ran out. Rangers then claimed for their umpteenth penalty, fast becoming a boring habit, when Ferguson went flailing to the ground as Leitch challenged. Latapy then fired in a shot from 20 yards which Brown got down well to hold. Motherwell then made a change, the ineffective Martinez being replaced by Keith Lasley. Some good play by Motherwell saw Pearson send Elliott wide. He appeared to be taken somewhat highly by Ricksen but play was waved on as the ball ran on towards Kelly, though Konterman cleared. Stephen Pearson was next to be booked as McCurry relentlessly worked his way through the Motherwell team, going for a loose ball as McCann lay pole-axed after a tackle from Lasley. There wasn't much in either and the surprise was Lasley didn't see yellow given McCurry's game so far. McCann recovered quickly, again no surprise there, but he was soon hitting the turf with incredible speed after Corrigan challenged and this time McCurry deemed it a fair challenge. The Fir parkers then made a second change, Leitch going off to make way for Paul Harvey. The "silky" Konterman made one of his trademark challenged on Kelly, as in half-an-hour late, and whilst Motherwell got the free-kick the home man didn't see yellow. Stuart Elliott got the ball and made his way down the wing only to be brought crashing to the ground by Ricksen though there was no foul given, this after some good play from Pearson and Harvey. However, with 21 minutes to go an error by Paul Harvey led to the home side's second. He lost possession near his own area allowing Latapy to give De Boer, in a rare standing position inside the box, the easiest of tasks to tap in. De Boer then made his way off as Cannigia replaced him. The latter was immediately in action, Brown holding his looping header. A two-footed tackle from Konterman went unpunished with Lasley requiring treatment and quite how this could be deemed unbookable given McCurry's previous record in the game was quite unbelievable. The Fir Parkers still plugged away and a Konterman clearance fell to Elliott whose over-head kick went not too far past from the edge of the box. Action swung to the other end with McCann feeding Latapy though the shot was well saved. Stuart Elliott then saw a similar shot held by Klos. Rangers made a second change, McCann going off for Lovenkrands. He had an immediate impact when his run took him from well outside the box to the by-line before Corrigan finally made the block for a corner. Brown's punch fell to Konterman who volleyed way over. Brown then made a superb stop from a fierce Latapy shot. The home fans and players alike hadn't made a penalty claim for a good while so it was no surprise then went made when Canniga's cross struck the arm of Strong at point-blank range and even the most biased of people would have to admit it was far from deliberate. Strangely, McCurry agreed, it was accidental. Keith Lasley was next to be booked for a trip on Numan which was far from bookable. Martyn Corrigan soon followed him into the book for a foul which, until the home fans bayed for blood, was never going to carry a card. With a minute left the home side made it three, From the free-kick which had seen Corrigan booked Latapy crossed low for Cannigia to nick the ball in. It was almost four, Lovenkrands made a run and shot which went past.
Full-time: Rangers 3 Motherwell 0
Match Report by Ricky Mullen