A first-half David Zitelli goal was enough to give Hibernian all three points and keep them above Rangers in the table.

The Ibrox side, who had Andrei Kanchelskis sent off late on, have been ravaged with injuries and it was a much depleted side fielded by Dick Advocaat.

This was particularly evident in goal where third choice goalkeeper Mark Brown was drafted in to replace the injured Stefan Klos and Lionel Charbonnier.

Defeat will leave Advocaat worried ahead of Rangers' Champions League clash with Galatasaray on Wednesday.

A large crowd had turned out for this second versus third clash and all at Easter Road paid respect to Scotland's first minister, Donald Dewar, who died this week, with a minute's silence.

Once the game kicked off, the visitors wasted no time in attacking the home goal.

Allan Johnston fed Peter Lovenkrands in the box but, before he could pull the trigger, the ball was cleared by Gary Smith.

Almost immediately, Hibs launched an attack and Russell Latapy almost gave the Easter Road side the lead in the first minute of the game but was denied by a one-handed save from Rangers' young goalkeeper Mark Brown.

In the sixth minutes, Stuart Lovell had a go with a long-range effort but the shot was weak and sailed harmlessly past the post.

The first booking of the game came in 12 minutes when a hard challenge by Tony Vidmar floored Zitelli and left referee Kenny Clark no option but to produce the yellow card.

Seconds later, Johnston tested goalkeeper Nick Colgan but his long, low shot was easily held.

Rangers could have opened the scoring after 17 minutes when Tugay crossed to Billy Dodds. The Ibrox hitman found Johnston but the shot was blocked.

Latapy replied with an opportunist strike from the edge of the 18-yard box but was off target and pulled the ball wide.

The breakthrough came for Hibs in 22 minutes. A Tugay mistake allowed John O'Neil to gain position and his cross found David Zitelli bursting down the right flank.

The Frenchman took the ball just inside the 18-yard box before unleashing the shot that left Brown helpless and smashed into the bottom corner of the net.

But just a couple of minutes later Zitelli found his name added to the referee's book for a challenge on Lovenkrands.

Rangers, in their third choice red kit, needed to hit back with an equaliser but were finding it hard to get the ball into the danger area.

They had the chance to pull a goal back in 37 minutes when Franck Sauzee pulled down Bert Konterman just outside the 18-yard box.

Jorg Albertz stepped up for the free-kick but his trademark shot let him down as he sent the effort over the crossbar.

Five minutes before the break Mathias Jack went on a great run, before laying the ball off to Latapy but the Trinidad and Tobago international sent the ball skywards.

Advocaat made a double switch at half-time, swapping Porrini for Andrei Kanchelskis and Johnston for Kenny Miller.

The substitutions almost had an immediate impact when Miller found Kanchelskis inside the box but he shot just wide.

Rangers were looking more lively in the opening minutes of the second period and Tugay came close with a shot that swung just wide of the upright.

Five minutes after the re-start Dirk Lehmann could have doubled Hibs' advantage but hooked his effort just over the crossbar.

Right on the hour mark, Kanchelskis looked to have been brought down in the box by Gary Smith but the referee waved play on, prompting a furious Advocaat to charge outside his technical area.

To make matters worse, Smith almost added to Hibs' goal tally just seconds later when his long-range effort smacked off the crossbar.

After 64 minutes Rangers had the ball in the net but Barry Ferguson's tap-in was deemed to be off-side, much to the outrage of the travelling support behind the goal.

Six minutes later, Lorenzo Amoruso managed to block Mixu Paatelainen's header but Lehmann pounced on the rebound and sent the shot just over.

As the game entered the last 15 minutes, Rangers were becoming increasingly desperate for the goal that would allow them to take something from the game.

Albertz tested Colgan with a long, low effort which cut through the Hibs defence but the goalkeeper managed to hold the ball well.

With just 10 minutes to go, an earlier booking for Kanchelskis proved costly when he was shown the red card for a challenge on Sauzee, leaving the visitors at a bigger disadvantage.

Five minutes from time, Kenny Miller had a great opportunity to rob his former team of the three points, when Colgan looked to be beaten, but the young striker blasted the ball over the crossbar.