WHAT a difference a week makes. Rangers went into the Old Firm game last Sunday on the crest of a wave after six wins on the bounce, but they clearly hadn’t recovered from the gut-wrenching defeat to Celtic last week as they went down tamely to Kilmarnock at Ibrox.
The Rangers supporters used to love the sight of a Kris Boyd goal at this stadium, but this time it was all it took for Killie to rack up yet another hugely impressive result under Steve Clarke and pile more misery on the Ibrox faithful in a dismal week for the light blues.
Alfredo Morelos paid the price for his wasteful showing against Celtic, and the week before against Falkirk for that matter, as he dropped to the bench to allow Jason Cummings to lead the line for Rangers.
Rangers had the first opportunity as Boyd came back to barge over Jamie Murphy at the edge of the area, but Sean Goss curled the free-kick just wide of the past from the edge of the box.
Rangers were having the majority of possession and territory though, and they should have been ahead when Goss curled a beauty of a cross onto Russell Martin’s head, only for the centre-half to glance wide from six yards.
Hesitation under a long ball from Stuart Findlay then allowed Daniel Cadeias to force the ball on to Jason Cummings, but the striker’s toe-poke was turned away by Jamie MacDonald at full-stretch.
Some slackness was creeping into Rangers’ play, and Docherty got lucky that it was Kris Boyd who latched onto his poor attempt at a backpass 30 yards from goal, with the former Rangers striker’s lack of pace allowing the midfielder to recover and win the ball back before Boyd could pull the trigger.
Just before the interval Killie had another chance as Kirk Broadfoot fired a ball across the area from the left, but Eamonn Brophy just failed to apply the finishing touch with a diving header.
The same player should have broken the deadlock just after the restart as the blistering pace of Jordan Jones took him beyond James Tavernier and to the byline, where he cut it back for Brophy to sidefoot wide from a great position.
They didn’t have to wait too long though to open the scoring as a free-kick from Jones was only partially cleared, allowing Findlay to head back into the area where Youssouf Mulumbu got a shot away across goal on the turn. Wes Foderingham sprang to his left to parry away, but it was no surprise to see Boyd first on the scene to tuck away the rebound.
Graeme Murty sent for Morelos in place of the ineffective Josh Windass, but Rangers were looking shellshocked and were showing no great urgency to get back into the game.
The substitute had his first sight of goal as he latched onto a Candeias knockdown, but he couldn’t get the ball out of his feet and Broadfoot got back to poke over to safety.
Rangers came within a whisker of a leveller as Tavernier’s free-kick was headed onto the underside of the bar and out to safety by Martin.
The home side had nothing else left in the tank, and Kilmarnock celebrated having now taken seven points from nine against Rangers this season.
RANGERS: Foderingham; Tavernier, Alves, Martin, John; Goss (Holt, 45’), Docherty; Candeias (Miller, 76’), Windass (Morelos, 61’), Murphy; Cummings.
KILMARNOCK: MacDonald; O’Donnell, Broadfoot, Findlay, Taylor; Tshibola (Power, 62’), Mulumbu (Erwin, 83’), Dicker, Jones; Brophy, Boyd (McKenzie, 62’).
SCORERS: Boyd (55’)
Referee: Don Robertson
Attendance: 49,396
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