RANGERS produced a dominant 4-1 victory over Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday evening to extend their unbeaten league run under Michael Beale’s stewardship.
The triumph was earned through goals from James Tavernier, Fashion Jr. and an Antonio Colak double as the Light Blues recovered from an early setback to stretch their winning run away from home in the league.
Indeed, the win made it seven away victories on the bounce since Beale was appointed manager, which is the longest winning run on the road for the team since the beginning of last season. After tasting defeat at Tannadice in August 2021, the Gers embarked on an eight-game winning streak away from home which started with a 4-2 victory over Ross County in the Highlands and ended with a 1-1 draw at Pittodrie in January.
Similarly, the side recorded eight wins on the spin away from home during the title-winning campaign of 2020/21, kickstarting the stretch of victories with an impressive 5-1 win over Motherwell at Fir Park in September before the run was halted on the same ground in a 1-1 draw in January.
The victory at Easter Road also marked the ninth time that the Gers have netted three or more goals in a fixture under Beale, which included a 3-0 win across the opposite side of Edinburgh last month. “That was our best performance since we were last in Edinburgh and it was because our energy and commitment to pressing all over was fantastic,” the Gers boss told RangersTV after the game.
It was also the first time in seven visits to Easter Road that Rangers have scored four or more goals, the last being the dramatic 5-5 draw with the Edinburgh club on the final day of the 2017/18 campaign, showing similar conviction to the 3-0 triumph over Hibs away from home in December 2019 when Beale was part of Steven Gerrard’s coaching staff.
Beale named an unchanged starting XI for the first time in consecutive league matches since January 2021 when the same team which started the 2-1 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie played out a 1-1 draw with Motherwell during the club’s Invincible league campaign.
The Ibrox side registered 31 attempts at goal on Wednesday evening, which is the highest total under Beale in the Scottish Premiership since the Englishman took charge after previous bests of 20 shots at goal away to Dundee United and Hearts since the turn of the year.
Key to that was the contribution of Fashion Jr. who accounted for seven attempts on his own while also registering the same number of key passes (the pass before an attempt at goal). The Zambian was involved in all four goals, delivering direct assists for both of Colak’s goals while also finding the net himself with a smart left-footed finish.
The 25-year-old is repaying the faith that the manager has shown in him since December, with his contribution on Wednesday evening taking his tally to five goals and six assists in 11 league starts under Beale.
The front three dazzled for the Light Blues in the capital as Colak continued his return to fitness with two goals to go alongside his assist against Kilmarnock last weekend. In fact, it was Fashion Jr. who returned the favour by teeing up the Croatian to complete the first half turnaround for Rangers at Easter Road, with Colak netting his 17th goal in all competitions with a smart finish after the interval.
The 29-year-old is averaging a goal every 101 minutes on the pitch in the Scottish Premiership this season and he was keen to thank his teammates for the quality of the supply line after the victory on Wednesday evening as he told RangersTV: "I am really happy for [the goals] but I have to say, it was an amazing team performance. For me as a striker, it couldn't be better, but again, as a team, the effort we gave today was amazing. I think it was all about the intensity from the whole team - how we regained the ball and the speed we went into the front area at. There were amazing relationships on the pitch and we have to stick at that.”
Fashion Jr. and Colak took 14 shots between them against Lee Johnson’s side, aided by the display from Ryan Kent who won the penalty and was heavily involved throughout. The fourth goal scored by the Gers encapsulated the confidence in their attacking display, totalling up 13 passes without a single touch from the opposition before Colak dispatched from Fashion Jr.’s inside pass.
The four shots that the Light Blues allowed against Hibernian was the fewest in an away league match under Beale this season. Coupled with figures from the win over Hearts at Tynecastle in February, it means that Rangers have conceded just four shots on target in their last two visits to the capital.
“Onwards and upwards, that’s three points and that’s all it is,” Beale told RangersTV. “The most important thing is that we perform with the same level of application, quality and energy on Sunday to get us into a [Scottish Cup] semi-final.”
