Rangers 2 (Boyd 2 [42, 81])
Attendance 13,506
Manager Paul Le Guen made three enforced changes from
the Hearts game with Allan McGregor, Alan Hutton and
Libor Sionko replacing the injured Lionel Letizi, Phil
Bardsley and Chris Burke against a home side
containing two former Rangers players – namely Allan
Johnston and Peter Leven.
Kris Boyd, playing against his old club, had a great
chance to open the scoring in fourteen minutes when
released by Brahim Hemdani only to shoot wide.
Two minutes later Libor Sionko collected a Jeremy
Clement pass only to be denied by home goalkeeper
Graeme Smith.
It was all Rangers – Julien Rodriguez seeing his 25th
minute header from a Lee Martin corner headed off the
line by Naismith.
Six minutes later Clement's slip freed Martin through
on goal only for Smith to block his effort, then
immediately thereafter it was Boyd's turn to be denied
by the Killie goalkeeper who touched wide his shot
from a Hemdani through-ball.
Just to prove it was not all one-way traffic, Danny
Invincible was denied by a timely Rodriguez
intervention from a Naismith pass in 37 minutes.
Rangers finally broke the deadlock three minutes
before the interval when Dado Prso's hard work created
an opening on the left, his low pass to Boyd finding
the striker with his back to goal, only for a quick
turn and low shot to beat Smith all ends up.
Kilmarnock Manager Jim Jeffries made a double
substitution at the interval with Gary Wales and David
Fernandez replacing Leven and Colin Nish – and his
side restarted in determined fashion, with Johnston
testing McGregor with a twenty-yard drive in 52
minutes.
Sixty seconds later at the other end Sionko's angled
drive was beaten out by Smith, then immediately
thereafter the Czech international's pass found Prso
in the clear only for the Croatian to blast the ball
over the bar.
Graeme Smith was in outstanding form – turning wide a
Martin drive after the Old Trafford youngster had cut
across the edge of the box.
Unbelievably the scores were levelled on the hour when
a Gary Wales corner was headed home by Frazer Wright –
exposing yet again a weakness in the air at the heart
of the Ibrox defence.
Three minutes later Prso was inches away from
regaining the lead with a low drive from a Martin
pass.
Invincible might even have given the home side a shock
lead in 71 minutes, when he was well wide with a free
header from a Fernandez cross.
Immediately thereafter it was Le Guen's turn to make a
double substitution – Thomas Buffel and Filip Sebo
replacing Martin and Sionko.
Prso had been outstanding throughout – but he missed
his second golden opportunity of the half two minutes
later when he shot straight at Smith following a Sebo
run on the right – his cross being helped on by both
Boyd and Buffel.
The home side still posed a threat – a Fernandez
header from a Gordon Greer cross being held by
McGregor in 78 minutes.
Three minutes later however it was Boyd who made it
2-1 for Rangers when he swivelled on a superb reverse
pass from Prso to net.
The points might have been secured in 85 minutes when
Sebo's right-wing run ended with a low cross to the
unmarked Buffel whose shot produced a superlative
one-handed save from man-of-the-match Smith.
The game nevertheless seemed won – until the 88th
minute when the home side were awarded a soft penalty
after a Wales cross found Fernandez whose header was
blocked by Hutton, Referee Alan Freeland adjudging
the full-back to have used an arm.
Naismith converted the spot-kick to make it 2-2, and
another two points had been thrown away.
Afterwards a frustrated Paul Le Guen reflected:
“We played well today, but missed so many chances. I
need to find the solution to our lack of goals. The
players did all they could, we must keep our heads up.
We must learn quickly – our defence is very young. We
must be more efficient. It was a good game – the
result was not good.”
KILMARNOCK Smith; G. Murray, Wright, Greer, Hay;
Naismith, Fowler, Leven (Wales 45), Invincible; Nish
(Fernandez 45), Johnston (Dodds 79)
UNUSED SUBS Adams, Bell, Di Giacomo, O'Leary
RANGERS McGregor; Hutton, Svensson, Rodriguez, Smith;
Sionko (Sebo 71), Hemdani, Clement, Martin (Buffel
71); Prso, Boyd (Rae 83)
UNUSED SUBS Adam, Robinson, N'Diaye, Ponroy
REFEREE Alan Freeland