Rangers fire four past Raith

Rangers gained a measure of revenge for last season's mortifying Ramsdens Cup final defeat to Raith as they beat Rovers 4-0 at Stark's Park.The win - secured thanks to first-half goals from Nicky Clark, Ian Black and Nicky Law, plus Lee McCulloch's second-half penalty - moved the Glasgow giants back to the top of the Scottish Championship table for the night at least.Hearts will retain the lead if they beat Dumbarton on Saturday but the victory at least provided Rangers manager Ally McCoist with a few hours of solace.The last time Light Blues visited Kirkcaldy in 1997, a star-studded line-up that included Brian Laudrup, Paul Gascoigne and Jorg Albertz romped to a 6-0 win, with McCoist among the scorers.But no-one needed to point out to McCoist the stark reality of just how far his club have fallen since the heady days of their nine-in-a-row title success.In the latest twist in the club's off-field saga, the travelling Rangers support woke on Friday to find their board had settled out of court with former director Imran Ahmad who had claimed B£500,000 for an unpaid bonus.And there was more breaking news as the fans arrived at Stark's Park, as it was confirmed the cash-strapped Glasgow outfit had fallen B£900,000 short of the B£4million target they had set after launching an emergency share issue.Whether that sum raised will be enough to keep the lights on at Ibrox for much longer is still to be revealed but at least McCoist's side kept their side of the bargain up as they cruised to victory over Rovers.First Clark out-jumped Ross Perry to glance home Fraser Aird's 16th-minute cross, while Black doubled their lead seven minutes before the break as his strike beat Ross Laidlaw with the aid of a massive deflection off Paul Watson.And the points were made certain 60 seconds later when Law swept home the third, with McCulloch's spot-kick completing a comfortable win with 22 minutes remaining.Rangers have done their best to bury the nightmare memories following their shocking 1-0 Easter Road cup defeat to Raith five months ago.John Baird was the Fife hero with his extra-time winner on that occasion, as Raith lifted the cup, but Rangers were glad to see he had moved on to Queen of the South.Even so, there were painful flashbacks for the men in blue in the opening stages of their reunion as Raith attacked with the same ferocity that won them the cup.Lee Wallace and Bilel Mohsni were both forced to scramble clear in the opening 10 minutes as McCoist's men bore a similar bewildered look to the one that crossed their faces back in April in Leith.But fraying nerves were soothed by Clark's opener as he headed home from 12 yards out after Aird threw over a perfect cross.Raith goalkeeper Laidlaw flapped at a curling Lewis Macleod effort just after the half-hour mark but did enough to turn it behind.There was little that Laidlaw could do, though, as Black's 20-yard strike cruelly flew over his head and dipped under the bar after taking a wicked deflection off Watson.Rangers' second goal was a real sickener for the hosts but the League One champions did not let up and netted again 60 seconds later as Macleod fed Law inside the box. The Englishman took one touch before bending a right-footed finish into the top corner.The away support had lapped up a much-improved display from their team in the first half but did not let the Rangers directors off the leash after the interval as they bellowed "Sack the board, sack the board".Their attention was turned back to the on-field action though as Kris Boyd latched on to Macleod's flick on before screwing wide.The former Scotland frontman was denied again after 54 minutes by Laidlaw's instinctive save after Wallace picked him out at the front post with a first-time centre.Boyd has netted five goals so far this term but none in the league, and his frustration was obvious as he passed up his next chance with 22 minutes left when he fired straight at Laidlaw following another handy assist from Macleod.When Wallace was brought down in the box by Grant Anderson, the Rangers fans made it clear who they wanted to take the spot-kick.But Boyd was left disappointed again as skipper McCulloch pulled rank before slotting home from 12 yards.