ALFREDO THE SAVING GRACE BRIAN MARJORIBANKS
Morelos helps himself after Killie rue early ref errors that swing game Rangers’ way
ASCOTTISH CUP fifth-round replay rout of Kilmarnock inspired by fourgoal Alfredo Morelos will never rival the Champions League Miracle of Istanbul in 2005. Or Liverpool’s thrilling FA Cup win over West Ham 12 months later.
Yet for Rangers boss Steven Gerrard, powering past the Rugby Park side at Ibrox last night was of huge significance as the 38-year-old emerged victorious in the most important evening of his managerial career to date.
Defeat in this tie and a forensic post-mortem into the premature death of a season by the middle of February would have ensued.
But, as Gerrard’s side left the last chance saloon with the reward of a quarter-final date with Aberdeen at Pittodrie, it was achieved amid yet another major refereeing controversy.
On a night when these riallysusp ended Morelos repaid his manager for his ill-discipline with a stunning show of finishing, Kilmarnock were left incensed by the performance of match official Alan Muir.
With barely two minutes on the clock, Killie’s Eamonn Brophy looked to have been hauled down in the box. No penalty, adjudged Muir, five minutes before Morelos opened the scoring.
The match official went even further down in the estimations of those who had travelled from Ayrshire when he sent off Killie goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann after just 25 minutes, claiming he had elbowed Glen Kamara.
If he had, it was with the softest of touches.
When Morelos made it two before the break, this match was all over bar the shouting — of which we can surely expect plenty — long before substitute Andy Halliday and two more from Morelos completed the scoring in what was now a one-sided, non-contest.
The penalty and sending off were merely the latest contentious incidents in a series of flashpoints that have rendered Rangers v Kilmarnock such a grudge match.
From Jamie Murphy picking up a serious injury on the plastic pitch at Rugby Park.
To former Liverpool colleagues and now rival bosses Steve Clarke and Gerrard exchanging views over the merit of penalties won this season by Jermain Defoe and Jordan Jones.
Not to mention Alan Power’s high kick in the goalless first cup tie in Ayrshire that ended in a yellow card and no retrospective action.
In declaring that the William Hill Scottish Cup was the only piece of silverware the Ibrox side could now realistically lift this season, Gerrard had made this a game of the highest stakes.
The former England captain made three changes to his team that drew 0-0 with St Johnstone, with Ryan Jack and Scott Arfield both overcoming injury.
But the biggest roar was reserved for the returning 23-goal striker Morelos.
In his absence due to suspension this season, Rangers had won just once in six games.
It would not take long for the 22-year-old to remind why he is such an important cog in this Rangers team.
Kilmarnock boss Clarke made two changes from the side that lost 1-0 in stoppage time at home to Celtic on Sunday.
Alex Bruce replaced the suspended Kirk Broadfoot while Youssouf Mulumbu came in for Ibrox-bound Jones.
The game crackled to life from the off when Brophy ran on to a long ball from Stephen O’Donnell and waltzed past Joe Worrall, only to be hauled down. Ibrox was silenced. It looked a penalty kick.
To Killie’s fury, Muir waved play on and Rangers were soon rubbing salt into those open wounds.
James Tavernier missed a penalty in the goalless first tie at Rugby Park but he made up for it by being the catalyst in the move that led to the breakthrough.
The right-back dispossessed the marauding Conor McAleny then bisected the Killie defence with a beautifully-weighted ball to find Daniel Candeias scampering down the right.
The Portuguese winger’s inch-perfect ball across goal allowed Morelos an open goal from two yards.
The Colombian striker did not make the cleanest of connections but the ball bounced over the line.
It then took a fine diving header from Bruce to stop Morelos getting onto another fine delivery from Candeias.
Soon after, Morelos burst into the box and appeared to manhandle O’Donnell before cutting back for Arfield.
The Canada international’s weak shot was easily saved by Bachmann as Killie’s players protested at Muir’s failure to blow for a foul against Morelos.
But another major controversy erupted as Ryan Kent waited to take a corner kick on 25 minutes.
Bachmann put his hands up in the air to make space for himself, Kamara fell to the ground and out came referee Muir’s red card.
He ruled Bachmann had caught Kamara with an elbow but the Killie players were incandescent with rage as they remonstrated with the match official.
Substitute keeper Jamie MacDonald came on for the unfortunate McEleney.
Already without first-choice centre-halves Broadfoot and Stuart Findlay, Killie also lost defender Bruce to injury a minute later. He was replaced by Aaron Tschibola.
And Killie’s night was to get worse soon after. Tavernier thought he had made it 2-0 before the break but his 20-yard shot cannoned off the underside of the bar and was hacked away to safety.
But when Morelos headed a Candeias cross home at the back post it was clear Killie would not be beating Rangers in a Scottish Cup tie for the first time since April 1938.
The second half was a non-event with ten-man Killie unable to land a glove on their opponents.
And with 13 minutes left, Rangers went further ahead when Kent squared unselfishly for substitute Halliday to rifle home the third.
Barely 60 seconds later, Morelos completed his hat-trick by running free of the Killie defence and blasting high past MacDonald from 18 yards.
Incredibly, the Colombian was not done yet and after dragging
the ball past O’Donnell in the box, he sent a fierce drive beyond MacDonald for his fourth. His man-of-the-match performance had ensured Gerrard avoided the reputational damage of being out of all competitions in February.
By contrast, the look on Clarke’s face at the end suggested in his eyes the stock of the nation’s already much-criticised referees had fallen somewhere south of a snake’s belly.
RANGERS (4-2-3-1): Foderingham; Tavernier, Worrall, Goldson, Barisic (Halliday 74); Jack, Kamara (Lafferty 80); Candeias, Arfield (Davis 74), Kent; Morelos. Subs not used: Firth, Katic, Coulibaly, Defoe.
Booked: None. KILMARNOCK (4-4-2): Bachmann; O’Donnell, Bruce (Tshibola 27), S Boyd, Taylor; Burke, Dicker, Mulumbu, Power; McAleny (MacDonald 26), Brophy (Ndjoli 79). Subs not used: McKenzie, K Boyd, Jones, Millen. Booked: None. Sent off: Bachmann. Man of the match: Alfredo Morelos. Referee: Alan Muir. Attendance: 37,918.