Scotland round-up: Old Firm ease to wins
Saturday, September 28, 2002
Article summary
Rangers FC and Celtic FC continue to set the pace by beating Dundee United FC and Kilmarnock FC.
Article body
Rangers FC maintained their grip at the top of the Scottish Premier League with a comfortable 3-0 win at Dundee United FC today.
Amoruso opener
Lorenzo Amoruso, Barry Ferguson and Shota Arveladze scored for Rangers as they consolidated their position at the summit. Rangers are on 25 points from nine games, one clear of Celtic FC who defeated Kilmarnock FC 5-0 later in the day, Henrik Larsson hitting a hat-trick.
Winning streak
Rangers wasted little time finding their form - and an eighth successive league win - as Amoruso headed Mikel Arteta's free-kick into the net on 22 minutes. Ferguson added a second from a Ronald de Boer cross before Georgian striker Arveladze underlined Rangers's dominance with a deserved third goal on 73 minutes.
Derby anticipation
Meanwhile, city rivals Celtic won comfortably to remain hot on the heels of Rangers ahead of next Sunday's first Old Firm match of the season. Celtic were able to cruise to victory after Larsson opened the scoring in the eleventh minute. Chris Sutton added a second before Larsson made it 3-0 shortly before the break. Englishman Sutton and Swede Larsson, with a penalty, were both also on target in the second half.
Confidence boost
UEFA Cup competitors Aberdeen FC enjoyed a morale-boosting victory ahead of Tuesday's second-leg against Hertha BSC Berlin with a 3-1 home win against Dunfermline Athletic FC. Lee Bullen opened the scoring for the visitors on 40 minutes, but Patrizio Billio levelled on the stroke of half-time. Second-half goals from Laurent D'Jaffo and Derek Young ensured victory for the Pittodrie side, while Craig Brewster's 88th-minute red card saw Dunfermline end the game with ten men.
Livingston stay bottom
Livingston FC failed to lift themselves off the bottom of the table after they lost 1-0 at Hibernian FC, Ian Murray the man on target, while Heart of Midlothian FC consolidated their third place position with a 2-2 draw at Partick Thistle FC. The final game of the day saw Motherwell FC and Dundee FC play out a 1-1 draw at Fir Park.