Cousin scores as Rangers thump Gretna

Updated 18.23 Sun Feb 24 2008
Keywords: steven naismith, kenny deuchar, daniel cousin, kris boyd, gretna, rangers, scottish premier league, spl, football, sport

Daniel Cousin put transfer controversy behind him to score as Rangers beat Gretna 4-2 in the SPL at Ibrox.

Cousin has been in limbo since Rangers agreed to sell him to Fulham but the move was blocked by Fifa.

"We thought it would be better to give him a run-out" - Walter Smith

He was prevented from moving to London because he has already played for two clubs this season and international rules state that players can only move once a year.

Cousin opened the scoring early on and Steven Naismith added a second before half-time.

Rangers manager Walter Smith said: "We thought it would be better to give him a run-out because it's no use for the player or for either of the clubs involved in this situation.

"I would have played him far earlier if we had known it was going to take this length of time."

Chris Burke scored Rangers' third goal before Kenny Deuchar pulled a goal back for Gretna.

Substitute Kris Boyd scored Rangers' fourth goal with two minutes to play and Deuchar score a second consolation in the last minute.

Rangers remain four points clear of Celtic at the top of the SPL, while Gretna are still 12 points adrift at the bottom of the table.

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