STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Rangers learn lesson from last season and play until the end to grind out late victory
AS the clock approached 90 minutes, it seemed this new season for Rangers would begin with a repeat of the same old failings.
A lead had been spurned. A first league win at Rugby Park since 2011 appeared distant. A performance pockmarked with drab periods against disciplined opponents looked like resulting in lost ground on the very first day of their campaign.
But then came a dramatic, chaotic finale that might just breed hope within the Ibrox club of things being a little different this time around.
When James Tavernier delivered a corner from the right, Connor Goldson powered through a crowd of bodies to connect firmly and spread delirium at one end of Rugby Park.
Visiting fans packed into the Chadwick Stand spilled on to the fringe of the pitch in celebration as ecstatic players were swamped. Nikola Katic was booked by referee Willie Collum for going too far but you doubt he much cared.
Too often last term, Rangers had been unable to get over the line from positions like this.
They stumbled out of the blocks with only five points from their opening four games. Both Premiership visits to Rugby Park were lost. And Steven Gerrard has pointed to the concession of late goals as a key factor in coming up short in a title challenge. The Ibrox manager wants to see change on all fronts.
This was an initial, valuable step in the right direction. And one that left Kilmarnock feeling wounded.
Rugby Park boss Angelo Alessio had looked set to alleviate the early scrutiny of his tenure, caused by that Europa League humiliation against Connah’s Quay Nomads, when Stephen O’Donnell’s 83rd-minute strike cancelled out Scott Arfield’s first-half opener.
It was not to be and another painful blow has now been inflicted. There was enough in Killie’s second-half display, however, to suggest predictions of their postSteve Clarke demise may have been a little premature.
Rangers now roll on to a challenging Europa League qualifier in Denmark on Thursday evening against FC Midtjylland. They can do so with a spring in their step that would have been absent had Goldson not intervened to such powerful effect.
At his media conference on Friday, Gerrard had effectively dared Alessio to come out and attack. The suggestion was that it would be a victory for player power if the Italian ditched his more expansive philosophy for the pointswinning pragmatism that had served Clarke so magnificently.
If the Ibrox manager was attempting mind games, they did not work. For the opening 16 minutes of parity, Kilmarnock were doggedly deep — squeezing space in a 4-1-4-1 set-up that left Eamonn Brophy an often isolated figure.
It presented a familiar challenge to Rangers. But could they pick this lock better than those carefully crafted by Clarke over hours of training ground work? They could. Even if they didn’t exactly knock the door off its hinges.
The first hint of weakening from the home defence came after eight minutes when Alfredo Morelos moved off Stuart Findlay to latch on to a lofted forward pass from Ryan Jack. The Colombian dinked an effort towards the near post that was repelled in flapping fashion by Laurentiu Branescu.
On loan from Juventus, the Romanian goalkeeper was included by Alessio alongside another new signing, midfielder Mohamed El Makrini.
Their introduction to the Premiership was rough. Rangers became resident in Kilmarnock territory prior to claiming a breakthrough that must have had Alessio tearing at his hair.
Katic was left completely unmarked as he rose to connect with a whipped corner from Tavernier. That header was thwarted by Branescu but Arfield reacted quickest to force the loose ball into the back of the net despite Alan Power’s desperate defensive slide.
The away fans erupted in delight. Yet their team’s breach of the Rugby Park rearguard did not lead to a collapse. For all the possession Gerrard’s men had until half-time, inroads into the penalty area were sporadic.
Urged out by Alessio, Kilmarnock began to pick their moments to press higher. Again, though, chances were only a fleeting prospect.
Their best came five minutes after falling behind. Power — booked for catching Morelos with his studs — launched a pass down the inside-left channel for Brophy to chase. The Scotland cap got there and tested Rangers keeper Wes Foderingham’s resolve with a firm, angled drive. Foderingham was enjoying a rare first outing as Allan McGregor served a ban carried over from last season.
Other than that, play frequently became congested in the middle third. It was all a bit pedestrian. What little spark there was lay in the ongoing battle between Morelos and Findlay. Greater intent was required to enliven the second period.
Initially, it came from Kilmarnock. Alessio’s side should have drawn level on 56 minutes after creating the most glaring opportunity of the game so far.
El Makrini spread play wide to Chris Burke and the ex-Rangers winger wrapped his gifted right foot around a cross that zipped into no-man’s land in front of Foderingham. Brophy was right in there, yet somehow managed to divert his effort wide. It felt like a big moment in a match not laden with them.
Rangers sought to maximise the reprieve. Joe Aribo’s curling leftfoot effort was pushed wide by Branescu before centre-back Katic glanced another Tavernier corner off target.
Gerrard withdrew Sheyi Ojo — one of several underwhelming performers — to introduce Jordan Jones to the sound of booing from his one-time fans in Ayrshire.
The noise would soon be transformed to cheers. Kilmarnock had continued to show flashes of danger — with a Burke cross just eluding Rory McKenzie and Brophy — before Rangers leaked a leveller.
Goldson conceded a free-kick out near the touchline that Burke delivered deep. It flew over the heads of those positioned centrally to find O’Donnell steaming in at the back post. A finish slammed into the roof of the net did the rest.
It looked like a familiar story was unfolding for Rangers in Ayrshire — until Goldson’s coup de grace. Aribo won the corner by whipping in a shot that was superbly tipped past by Branescu. Tavernier was again the supplier as Goldson headed in before being consumed in celebration.