Weiss stars in Gers win

Vladimir Weiss stole the show as Rangers edged closer to Celtic at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League with a 4-0 win over Hamilton at Ibrox.

Weiss helped himself to a double and also won a penalty that was converted by Steven Whittaker, before Maurice Edu sealed the victory late on.

Rangers now sit five points adrift of SPL leaders Celtic, but have three games in hand over their Old Firm rivals.

Accies were forced to soak up the Rangers pressure from the start and goalkeeper Tomas Cerny was helpless when the home side surged into the lead with 25 minutes gone. Weiss lashed a firm, low shot into the bottom corner from 35 yards.

The winger then won a penalty just two minutes later when he was tripped in the box by Michael Devlin, and Whittaker stepped up to fire confidently into the back of the net from the spot and add to the penalty he netted in the Scottish Cup earlier in the week.

Weiss found the back of the net again on the half-time whistle when he curled a free-kick past Cerny after being fouled by Grant Gillespie, with Kenny Miller stepping over the ball in front of goal to allow the effort to hit the back of the net unchallenged.

The tempo of the game had dipped slightly in the second half but Rangers still posed a threat in front of goal, with Cerny called into action to gather an ambitious long-range shot from youngster Jamie Ness.

Richard Foster was thrown into the action when Sasa Papac hobbled off with 20 minutes to go, meaning Nikica Jelavic would have to wait a while longer before making his long-awaited comeback after almost four months on the sidelines.

There had been few incidents of note in the second half, following an entertaining opening 45 minutes, until Rangers grabbed their fourth goal eight minutes from time.

Edu collected a throw-in from Whittaker before cutting into the middle and bulleting a left-footed shot home from 18 yards to put the gloss on the victory.