Rangers closed to just one point behind the leaders Hearts at the top of the Premier Division yesterday, but their new position looks much cosier than the victory that took them there. Of the 30 goals Marco Negri has scored in his extraordinary first season at Ibrox, the one that secured the points at Ibrox yesterday comes 30th - and for more than chronological reasons.

The Italian had the rare privilege of being allowed three tries at converting a penalty kick early in the second half, and finished up with the messiest goal he is ever likely to register. Negri himself had been pulled back by Darren Dods and his kick was a poor one, allowing Chris Reid to flop to his left and make the block.

The ball came back to Negri, who slapped it against the goalkeeper and up on to the crossbar. Again, it dropped to Negri, by now surrounded by opponents and allies and he miscued it into the net, the ball screwing and bouncing away from the two Hibernian players who had rushed back to cover the goal-line.

The goal rather characterised Rangers' slovenly performance against a Hibs team who had lost seven and drawn the other of their previous eight games. The Edinburgh side never looked likely to adopt the role of sacrificial lambs.

The absence of the suspended Paul Gascoigne and the injured Brian Laudrup once again pointed up their value to the Ibrox team. In their absence, the others look pedestrian, unimaginative and blunt

It was not a game that had the Rangers supporters in raptures, but they were buoyed even before the kick-off by Celtic's scoreless draw at Kilmarnock 24 hours earlier. The result was the best the Parkhead side deserved at the end of a poor performance, with too many players unable to impose themselves on a resistant home team.

But it caused them to lose further ground to the leaders. Hearts were at home to Motherwell and managed to win 2-0 without producing an impressive display. Colin Cameron ended a tedious first half with a penalty goal in stoppage time and the Austrian, Thomas Flogel, secured the points in the second half.

It was a bad day for Motherwell, who had the defender Kevin Christie sent off for the foul which conceded the penalty and earned him a second yellow card.