Scottish Premier League: Aberdeen 0 Rangers 1

Rangers maintained the pressure on Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premier League with a 1-0 win over Aberdeen on Wednesday.

Walter Smith’s men closed the gap on their arch rivals to two points thanks to a first-half goal from Croatian forward Nikica Jelavic.

The striker brought down a long free-kick from goal-keeper Allan McGregor with his chest before connecting with an acrobatic overhead kick to score the only goal of the game.

Aberdeen’s Christopher Maguire should have levelled the scores 10 minutes into the second half, but he put his shot wide.

The hosts went close again in the 74th minute when Maguire played a pass to Robert Milsom, but his cut-back was cleared off the line by Rangers’ Kyle Lafferty.

Rangers goalkeeper McGregor sent a scare through the camp moments before the final whistle when he dropped a catch on the edge of the area, but he reacted quickly enough to clear the chance.

The loss leaves Aberdeen third from bottom, while Rangers maintained the pressure on the league-leaders with seven games remaining.