Hibs 1 Rangers 4

Rangers came back from conceding the quickest-ever goal in the Scottish Premier League to win 4-1 on Sunday and restore their four-point lead at the top of the table.

Anthony Stokes fired the home side ahead at Easter Road with a goal timed officially at 12.4 seconds – beating the previous record set by Hearts' Saulius Mikoliunas in 2006 – but that was as good as it got for the Edinburgh club, who still remained third after this defeat.

The Scottish champions hit back through a Kenny Miller double, with Kris Boyd and Nacho Novo also scoring for as Hibs' run of 13 unbeaten league games was brought to an end in emphatic fashion.

Victory ensured Rangers would finish 2009 as league leaders, regardless of the results of Wednesday's matches when second-placed Celtic are away to Kilmarnock and Rangers are at home to Dundee United.

Rangers captain David Weir admitted his side had been caught cold by Hibs's start.

"We knew they'd come flying out the box but we weren't ready for them," said Weir.

"It was a big disappointment but we responded in the right way."

Rangers manager Walter Smith added: "It was a poor start – the first 20 minutes we didn't play at all but after that, I thought we played very well."

Hibs manager John Hughes said poor defending by his side had played a key role in all four Rangers goals.

"It was a great start for us and for the first 20 minutes I felt they were doing everything I'd asked of them," Hughes explained.

"Fundamentally, I felt we gave Rangers four goals. Some of the defending wasn't too great."

Merouanne Zemmama created Hibs' rapid opener, receiving the ball from the kick-off and finding a way through Rangers' defence before releasing Stokes, who shot into the far corner from a tight angle. But the speed with which the hosts struck left Rangers with plenty of time to recover and the visitors equalised in the 21st minute through former Hibs striker Miller.

Boyd, following a Novo interception, found Miller with a neat reverse pass and the Scotland international's low, curling, 20-yard shot beat Hibs goalkeeper Ma-Kalambay.

It looked as if the teams might go in level at half-time but eight minutes before the break Boyd put Rangers in front after getting on the end of a cross from Madjid Bougherra, who had dispossessed Derek Riordan.

Hibs then suffered an even more glaring self-inflicted wound early in the second half when Ma-Kalambay, seemingly struggling with a leg injury, was beaten at his near-post by Novo's mis-hit cross as Rangers went 3-1 ahead.

Rangers' strike duo then combined again, with Boyd once more the provider, in the 66th minute when Miller beat the offside trap to fire in his second and his team's fourth, Ma-Kalambay getting a hand to the ball but unable to keep it out of the Hibs net.

Match details

Hibernian: Ma-Kalambay, Wotherspoon, Hogg, Bamba, Hanlon, Zemmama (Galbraith 68), Miller, Rankin, Stokes, Nish (Benjelloun 76), Riordan (McCormack 68). Subs: Flynn, Cregg, Thicot, Stevenson. Booked: Bamba. Goal: Stokes 1.

Rangers: McGregor, Broadfoot, Weir, Bougherra, Papac, Davis, McCulloch, Novo, Lafferty (Edu 74), Miller (Whittaker 80), Boyd. Subs: Alexander (g), Smith, Fleck, Little, Wilson.

Goals: Miller 21, Boyd 37, Novo 53, Miller 66.

Referee: I Brines (Scotland).