NICK WALSH was the man in the middle as Rangers clashed with Hibernian in the Premiership at Ibrox tonight.

And it didn’t take long for the whistler to be called into action as he awarded a penalty within five minutes.

Walsh was correct as he pointed to the spot after Ryan Kent was clearly taken out in the box by Paul McGinn after the English winger cut in from the left flank.

McGinn clearly did not touch the ball as he challenged Kent, so there was no controversy about the call.

Just ten minutes later Walsh then had another penalty decision to make as Kent once again hit the deck in the box.

This time the referee waved play on as Chris Cadden bodied Kent from behind, and it was the wrong decision. Cadden was nowhere near the ball and forced Kent off balance as he shaped to shoot.

Borna Barisic received the first booking of the contest when he went flying in on Sylvester Jasper. The tackle was late and high and was well worthy of a yellow card.

Connor Goldson was next in the book and again he rightly received a card. The centre-back mistimed his challenge on Hibs winger Demetri Mitchell.

Hibernian’s first booking came on 50 minutes as Rocky Bushiri hauled back Alfredo Morelos after the striker turned his marker with ease. Again, a definite yellow card.

Lewis Stevenson joined his teammate in the book on the hour mark as he scythed down Glen Kamara in the centre circle. Poor challenge.

James Tavernier was cautioned for diving in on Jasper in the 78th minute and again it was a challenge that was worthy of a booking.

Overall, it was a mixed display from Walsh. All cautions handed out were deserved, but he was inconsistent throughout the 90 minutes.

The whistler should have also awarded a second penalty for Rangers when Kent was grounded shortly after the first penalty. Luckily this had no bearing on the outcome of the contest.