Rangers recorded their fourth successive win in all competitions with a narrow victory over Hibernian at Ibrox. Tom Lawrence netted the only goal of the game to give Philippe Clement’s side a hard-fought success on their return to Premiership action. Jack Butland saved a first half penalty from Mykola Kukharevych.

Rangers are now five points behind Celtic once again in the title race. Clement’s side face Lyon and St Johnstone in the coming days. Here, the Rangers Review looks at the main points from a frustrating afternoon at Ibrox.

A low-key victory

The first real moment of quality broke the deadlock. Rangers had been largely lethargic in an attacking sense and looked like a side that needed an individual influence to provide a spark. Lawrence was the man that stepped forward. On the edge of the box, he shifted the ball inside and then found the top corner of Josef Bursik’s net. A lengthy VAR check overruled the offside flag and Lawrence had his third of the campaign as he matched his tally from last term.

The opening goal should have given Rangers the foundations to build on. Instead, it was more of the same from Clement’s side. It was disjointed, pedestrian stuff from the hosts and the Ibrox crowd became increasingly tetchy and vocal as the clock ticked on but the scoreboard didn’t tick over.

A Kieran Dowell effort that was easily saved by Bursik was one of the few times when Rangers looked threatening after the break. The problem on Thursday night was that Clement’s side missed chances. The problem here was that they were not even creating them. Rangers lacked guile.

With ten minutes remaining, Cyriel Dessers should have won it. His header from a tight angle was saved well by Bursik. In the end, Rangers only needed the one goal to claim the three points.

Home comforts for Clement

The stadium is back to full capacity and was back at full voice as season ticket holders in the Copland Rear were able to take their seats once again. Now Rangers must capitalise on the Ibrox factor over the next week as they look to keep building some momentum at home and abroad. Clement spoke about the ‘synergy’ between the players and the punters last term and Rangers need performances and results to build that bond.

This was the first match of three that Clement’s side will play here in seven days and the visits of Lyon and St Johnstone provide Rangers with an opportunity that they must make the most of. After a trip to Kilmarnock following the international break, Rangers are back here for fixtures with Steaua Bucharest and St Mirren before the trip to Aberdeen rounds off October.

The home crowd – which numbered just over 48,000 here - can work for you as well as against you. Some members of this squad know that all too well, while the new recruits will find that out for themselves in the coming weeks.

Questions over Raskin

The injury that Raskin suffered in the pre-season game with Ajax curtailed his involvement in the opening weeks of the campaign. Since returning to fitness, he has struggled for form. His ten-minute cameo off the bench on Thursday night followed brief outings against Celtic and Dundee United. In total, the Belgian had played just 37 minutes of football before being given a start here.

The importance of this game could, therefore, not be underestimated for Raskin. Clement confirmed pre-match that Mohamed Diomande missed out after sustaining a knock in Sweden. Had Raskin been overlooked for Dujon Sterling or Dowell, questions would have been asked about what part he can play in Clement’s side this term.

His afternoon lasted just 45 minutes as Dowell replaced him at the break. It had been a somewhat run of the mill performance from the midfielder, but he wasn’t that far off it that there were calls from the stands for him to be hooked. Time will tell when he gets his next shot.

First start for Igamane

The Moroccan missed out in Malmo due to a passport problem. With Dessers given a well-earned rest from the start, this was the time for Igamane to show the Ibrox crowd what he could do. His first appearance here came last week against Dundee after substitute outings on the road at Parkhead and Tannadice.

A strike from the edge of the area that whistled just over the bar was the closest that Igamane would come in the first half. The front three – which saw Ross McCausland come in on the left and Vaclav Cerny operate from the right – caused Hibernian few problems. The introduction of Nedim Bajrami was not a surprise, although McCausland could perhaps feel aggrieved that he was the one that was replaced given that Cerny had struggled once again.

Igamane only featured for the first ten minutes after the break. It was no doubt part of Clement’s plans to keep building him up tactically and physically. It was perhaps also an acknowledgement that Rangers needed more from their centre-forward at a time when there was still much work to be done. Dessers will lead the line against Lyon.

Four shut-outs on the bounce

The wins over Dundee United, Dundee and Malmo have been earned with the aid of three clean sheets. A defensive unit that had many questions asked of it in the opening weeks of the term have been more solid of late and a side that looked too easy to play against and play through have not looked as susceptible. Robin Propper has improved as the weeks have gone on and John Souttar has been an understated performer for Rangers.

Here, it was Jack Butland that deserved the headlines. Souttar was penalised for handball after a VAR check and Kukharevych had the chance from 12 yards to pull Hibernian level. A stuttering run-up was followed by a tame strike that Butland was equal to. He saved low to his right and sparked a celebration in the stands before Status Quo was played over the PA system at the break.

The fact that Butland was the busier keeper thereafter said it all. Hibernian were the ones on the front foot and that looked the most likely to score. In the closing stages, Dwight Gayle really should have as he nodded a header wide of target.