Relentless Rangers all fired up and marching in the right direction
JUST over 20 seconds into the action, with a pall of pre-match gun smoke hanging in the air, the tone was very firmly set.
Rangers poured forward from the kick-off, a wave of blue flooding into opposition territory, with Jason Holt eventually sending a shot from the edge of the area just past Kilmarnock goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald’s left-hand post.
Within three minutes, Michael O’Halloran had created havoc with a run and cross hacked clear from inside the six-yard box and Josh Windass had forced MacDonald into action with a crisp drive.
It was the kind of direct, dangerous and committed play that has been missing from Mark Warburton’s side for far too much of this largely-underwhelming season, an unmistakeable signal of intent.
It also provided an excellent platform from which to build from, placed a Kilmarnock side entering the match on a three-game unbeaten run on the back foot, and led to an uncommonly — not to mention unexpectedly — straightforward win thanks to a smart Lee Wallace finish, an Andy Halliday penalty and a second-half goal from Joe Garner.
Perhaps the players had been stung by the perfectly-merited criticism of late and the faintly poisonous atmosphere which had infested Ibrox during their midweek draw with St Johnstone.
Perhaps it was the thunderous sound of the L118 light gun fired by the soldiers from 207 (City of Glasgow) Battery, part of 105 Regiment Royal Artillery, to begin and end the minute’s silence before hostilities commenced as part of Rangers’ programme of Remembrance Day events.
Whatever it was that woke them up and focused minds on the task in hand, it most certainly worked.
This could easily have degenerated into another nervous, awkward afternoon.
But it ended up one-way traffic, propelled Rangers into second place in the Premiership table and may well prove to be a turning point for a somewhat embattled squad and their manager.
For starters, this was the first time Rangers had scored more than two goals on league business all season.
They have dominated the possession statistics in a number of matches but have, too often, lacked bite in the final third. Not yesterday. Make no mistake, they could have won by more than three goals.
O’Halloran held his place on the flank, playing predominantly on the right but switching with Kenny Miller from time to time.
The former St Johnstone winger brings much to the team with his direct style and genuine pace. Of course, there are some questions about the consistency of his end product, but he made a significant difference yesterday.
Should Barrie McKay, kept on the bench for the second consecutive match, regain his form and show signs of progression at this higher level, the prospect of them flying at full-backs down either wing is something to think about.
Another player with the capability to provide the kind of drive and energy that has been absent too often is Windass.
By his own admission, he failed to show up in the Betfred League Cup semi-final loss to Celtic and was quiet against St Johnstone in midweek, but he certainly opened this match with good, controlled aggression and set up the opening goal for Wallace after 16 minutes.
Windass fed a beautiful pass up the left from midway inside the Saints half that split the visiting defence and simply invited Wallace to charge on to it. His finish past a flat-footed MacDonald was clinical in the extreme.
Naturally, it is a nice time for the Rangers captain to draw attention to himself. With Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson both injured, the left-back slot for Scotland’s upcoming trip to Wembley is open to interested bidders. He is certainly the most experienced campaigner available, but his form this season has been patchy and there are other contenders such as Stephen Kingsley at Swansea and Aberdeen’s Graeme Shinnie.
However, this was a nice way to begin staking a claim.
Halliday then made it two from the penalty spot just before the half-hour to eliminate any residual negative energy around the ground from midweek events, beating MacDonald low to his right after Holt had been upended inside the area by former Rangers defender Stevie Smith.
Clint Hill then had a header cleared off the line by Rory McKenzie shortly before the break, but Garner would net his second in two games three minutes after the restart.
He moved on to a mishit Windass shot inside the box and did well to guide the ball past MacDonald and in at the far corner with a deft touch. Levels of intensity from the home team dropped with the game over as a contest, but Miller still found time to force a decent save from MacDonald before making way for Martyn Waghorn.
The natural question to ask now is where this kind of display has been lurking in recent weeks. Rangers must produce this degree of quality consistently and use the victory as a springboard to streak away from the likes of St Johnstone, Aberdeen and Hearts and, at the very least, secure the second-placed finish their budget ought to guarantee.
There is a long way to go for Warburton and his men, but this was much better. On a day with military overtones, they showed themselves capable of marching in the right direction.