Rangers pull clear with derby win over Celtic

By Kenny MacDonald

GLASGOW (Reuters) - Kevin Thomson scored his first goal for Rangers as they defeated Celtic 1-0 to move six points clear of their bitter rivals in the Scottish Premier League (SPL) on Saturday.

The home side soaked up the first-half pressure before former Hibernian midfielder Thomson surged through the middle to exchange passes with French striker Jean-Claude Darcheville and slot a low shot under keeper Artur Boroc just before the break.

The first period had been a frenetic affair with plenty of passion but little pattern and it took 22 minutes for Celtic to carve out the first opening.

Greek striker Georgios Samaras played in Scott Brown but the Scotland midfielder stumbled after being clipped by Rangers defender Steven Whittaker and his scuffed, close-range shot was blocked by goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

A low shot from Rangers captain Barry Ferguson forced Poland's Boruc into action on 40 minutes before Thomson struck to fire home what proved the winner four minutes later.

Rangers had to rely on McGregor to produce a superb save and preserve their lead in the 69th minute when he hurtled across goal to flip a 25-metre rising shot from German defender Andreas Hinkel over the bar.

Rangers lead the SPL standings on 74 points from 29 games with champions Celtic trailing in second with 68 from 30.

"I felt we had to win the match to give us a little bit of leeway," Rangers manager Walter Smith told BBC radio.