RANGERS are no strangers to spurning great chances. This was another one that they passed up, and it could be a costly miss for Mark Warburton’s side.

Victory over Kilmarnock would have ensured the Light Blues would occupy top spot in the Premiership going into the first Old Firm fixture of the campaign next month. Instead, they could find themselves behind their title rivals.

Eight points from their first four Premiership outings isn’t a bad return, but it should have been better for Warburton’s side. After being held by Hamilton on the opening day of the campaign, Rangers could only draw at Rugby Park as they once again failed to perform.

Now, Warburton will have to hope that Aberdeen do him a favour when they head to Glasgow on Saturday afternoon. With the first derby day looming, the Gers boss has plenty to ponder.

A James Tavernier free-kick may have cancelled out Kris Boyd’s opener, but it didn’t provide Rangers with the platform to build upon and clinch victory. They had their chances, but none were converted.

Four games in and there as many questions as there are answers for Warburton.

Rangers’ defence has been a constant source of concern for supporters in recent weeks and it is one that Warburton has yet to fully remedy.

He stuck with the same central partnership of Danny Wilson and Rob Kiernan for the third successive Premiership outing but was forced into a change before the first whistle. An injury to Wilson in the warm-up saw Clint Hill return to the side and it would prove to be another fraught night for the Light Blues’ rear guard.

They were not alone in that regard during, however. It was the latest in a line of laborious performances from Warburton’s side and they could have had no complaints that they returned to the away dressing room a goal behind.

The Gers were too slow in their build-up, their touch poor, as they struggled to assert themselves on the game until the encounter opened up late on. Before that, it was a more direct approach than they deployed last term and it failed to pay dividends as they struggled to break through the Killie defence.

The incisive, sharp passing that was the trademark of the side last season has yet to be seen for prolonged spell this term. There was hardly any evidence of it in Ayrshire.

A Kenny Miller shot into the near post and a weak header from Joe Dodoo was all Rangers could carve out in the opening minutes and Warburton soon had to turn to his bench as Joe Garner was given an earlier than expected debut.

It meant a premature end to the night for Dodoo as he was stretchered off but even the addition of their latest recruit couldn’t add impetus to a lacklustre Gers attack.

Killie were more than in the game and they soon had a reason to celebrate. There were groans of frustration when Boyd failed to make proper contact with a Greg Taylor cross and pulled a weak shot wide of the far post.

But the former Ibrox star soon made up for his miss in typical fashion. It was the kind of goal the Light Blue legions had seen him score on many occasions as he took his tally to 250 in British football.

Barrie McKay’s pass was intercepted by Jonathan Burn and when Greg Kiltie spun away from Joey Barton and found Boyd, the 33-year-old made no mistake. He beat Hill with ease and the stroked the ball into the far corner of Wes Foderingham’s net.

The Gers support that packed both ends of Rugby Park roared in encouragement but there was no response before the break as Warburton’s side continued to toil.

Their best chance fell to Tavernier when he combined well with Garner but the right-back blasted a shot high over the bar from inside the area.

The next time Tavernier got a sight of goal, he produced a moment of magic, though. He had time to deliberate as he stood over a free-kick following a Dean Hawkshaw foul on McKay as Warburton made his second change and Niko Kranjcar replaced Jordan Rossiter.

Seconds later, the ball was in the Killie net as Tavernier curled a superb strike into the top corner of the net. With half an hour left, Rangers now had the win in their sights.

The game became frantic as Killie were reduced to ten men when Taylor lunged into Barton and deservedly saw red. It was a shocking challenge from the 18-year-old and Barton would only remain on the park for a couple of minutes before Andy Halliday took over in midfield.

Rangers were in the ascendancy as they looked for a winner and Miller almost scored a spectacular effort after being picked out by Kranjcar at the back post.

Tavernier and Forrester both saw strikes blocked in a congested penalty area as Rangers piled forward. The right-back soon lined up another free-kick on the edge of the box but keeper Jamie MacDonald was equal to another well-struck effort this time around.

It was all one-way traffic in the closing stages. There were half-chances and penalty claims, but no goals.

The final blow of the whistle brought an end to a frantic and entertaining affair. It also signalled the conclusion of another frustrating 90 minutes for Rangers.