Present & correct
Big-hearted Alfie dishes out cheer back home but gives greatest gift to Gers ... another goal
ALFREDO MORELOS won praise on Christmas Day when he purchased 300 gifts for underprivileged kids in his home town of Cerete.
But the little Colombian saved the greatest present of all for the Rangers fans as he fired in the festive strike that kept Ibrox title dreams alive.
For 65 minutes it looked as if they’d blown their championship chances as they huffed and puffed against the low block of well-drilled Kilmarnock.
Without the timely intervention of El Bufalo the Celtic team bus would have done more than pass Ibrox on its way home from Paisley last night.
Neil Lennon’s side would surely have taken a commanding grip at the top of the table or, at very least, bought themselves breathing space ahead of Sunday’s Old Firm crunch at Parkhead.
Morelos had been on the pitch only seven minutes, called off the naughty step following his recent indiscretion at Fir Park, when he replaced Jermain Defoe and pounced.
Ryan Jack played the ball wide to Joe Aribo whose quickfire delivery through the guts of the visitors’ rearguard had been something his side had missed all afternoon.
Morelos was on to it in a flash as the Killie defence howled for offside – wrongly, as Alex Dyer frankly admitted afterwards.
He sprung off the shoulder of Alex Bruce to slam a shot under Laurentiu Branescu from eight yards and spark scenes of jubilation in the stands.
It was his 12th league goal of the season, his 28th in total. And in a campaign in which he has scored some crucial goals, particularly in Europe, few have been as timely.
Rangers needed a last-gasp winner on the opening day of the league season at Rugby Park but that’s now six points from six against Killie, compared to only one from their last three league games against the same rivals earlier in the year.
They have found a way to win ugly and for long periods, until Morelos struck, this was a frustrating and fraught experience for the majority of the Boxing Day audience of 49,885.
It was impossible not to feel a pang for Killie who were superbly marshalled by Alan Power in the middle of the park and who failed to yield until Morelos came to the fore.
It was also impossible not to feel some sympathy for Defoe, preferred to Morelos from kick-off, as some of his movement along the forward line was sublime without the reward of a killer delivery from those behind him.
Mind you, life would have been so much easier after three minutes had he found the net when he swivelled on an Aribo pass but Bruce made a last-gasp tackle to divert his shot narrowly wide.
Rangers had been asked by Killie to kick into the Copland Road end of the ground, which is fairly uncommon, but the first half revealed an old familiar story. This was Killie working to the Steve Clarke template as they dropped deep into two defensive banks in the hope of hitting on the counter, with Liam Millar sole striker.
Rangers dominated possession, as expected, with Borna Barisic and James Tavernier doing their best to stretch the visitors on both wings.
However, there was a lack of pace and penetration as clear-cut chances were few and far between. Killie were
content to concede the wide areas to their rival full-backs, backing their defensive line to deal with anything thrown into the box and their judgment was shrewd.
Even with the clever movement of Defoe, Rangers were struggling to thread the passes in behind the Killie defence from central areas that might have cut Dyer’s side open.
It was already threatening to become an afternoon of angst for the sizeable home support when Jack whizzed a volley narrowly past the post from another Barisic delivery.
Killie were hardly seen as an attacking force but a shot early on
from Niko Hamalainen that was deflected narrowly past the post reminded Rangers of their danger on the break.
That was a rare interlude in constant Rangers pressure and Glen Kamara came close to breaking the deadlock two minutes before the break when he curled a shot off the top of the bar after Kent and Barisic had combined.
The Rangers support grumbled and groaned at half-time but stuck with their side and were rewarded with a second-half performance that was much more dynamic and intensive.
Branescu, who infuriated home fans with his time-wasting antics, made a string of fine stops to deny Barisic, Kent and Jack from the edge of the box as Rangers decided to go more direct and shoot from distance.
But at the other end a slick move on the counter forced Allan McGregor into a fine stop to his left to deny Power’s low effort from 20 yards.
Power was a tremendous influence, his battling spirit exemplified in the 63rd minute when he threw himself in front of an Aribo shot that was surely heading into the net.
However, he was left dejected two minutes later when Morelos stepped forward, moments after Kent had rifled a shot over the top from 25 yards. There was no way back for Killie after that, even as they committed two men into attack.
If anything Rangers should have added a second to make the closing stages most comfortable but they were guilty of being too elaborate in front of goal as several clear-cut chances went begging.
Even Morelos was wasteful 11 minutes from time when he was played in by Tavernier and elected to try to walk the ball around Branescu. He was denied by the keeper’s size 11s but the home crowd were in forgiving mood as they held on for three points.