of the SPL with a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock at Ibrox
this afternoon.
It was however hardly a game to warm the hearts of the
48,055 spectators present on a wet, dreich day.
Celtic's 1-1 draw with Hearts had given the Light
Blues every possible incentive to chalk up another
home win prior to kick-off.
Manager Walter Smith made three changes from Stuttgart
with Steven Whittaker, Steven Naismith and Kris Boyd
replacing Sasa Papac, Brahim Hemdani and DaMarcus
Beasley.
It was a miserable afternoon weather-wise, and
likewise there was a miserable turnout of visiting
supporters.
The home side went into the game fully aware that
Celtic had dropped two points in the lunch-time
kick-off at Tynecastle, and they could not have made a
better start, opening the scoring in three minutes
when a long kick-out by Allan McGregor, nodded on by
Boyd, saw Jean-Claude Darcheville shrug off the
challenge of Ryan O'Leary to stroke the ball home.
It was all Rangers - and Naismith might have made it
two against his old club in twenty minutes when he
shot wide from a Boyd flick.
Rangers suffered an injury blow on the half-hour mark
when Darcheville pulled up with what appeared to be
the recurrence of his hanstring troubles. He limped
off two minutes later, to be replaced by Charlie Adam
with Lee McCulloch moving up front.
The first-half petered out without further incident,
almost dying on its' feet - but Rangers restarted in
determined fashion, and went 2-0 up nine minutes in
when Whittaker took a Naismith pass, cut inside and
rifled the ball home.
Five minutes later a Hutton - McCulloch move split the
visitors' defence apart only for Naismith to shoot
wide from twenty yards.
Boyd had the ball in the net in 61 minutes when he
converted a rebound after Adam's twenty-yard shot had
been parried by Killie goalkeeper Alan Combe only for
the goal to be chalked off for offside on the say-so
of linesman Tom Murphy.
Four minutes later Rangers were denied a clear penalty
when McCulloch was barged from behind by Tim Clancy as
he controlled an Adam cross.
Boyd should have added a third in 69 minutes when put
through by Adam's reverse pass, but allowed Combe to
block his effort.
Sixty seconds later incredibly the Ibrox men were
again denied a stonewall penalty when Naismith was
scythed down by Grant Murray from aBoyd pass - once
again Aberdeen Referee Alan Freeland said no.
Freeland was a late replacement for Stuart Dougal, who
should have been the match referee - and he really
showed his true colours in 75 minutes when he denied
Rangers a third stonewall penalty when Adam was hauled
to the ground by Murray as he moved in on the rebound
after McCulloch's eighteen-yard drive had been beaten
out by Combe.
Rangers remained in control until the final whistle,
and as the teams departed a crescendo of boos poured
down on the head of Alan Freeland.
Afterwards Walter Smith summarised:
"We had a great start, and created many chances. The
game fell flat, but we pushed Kilmarnock back
throughout. We had three legitimate penalty claims."
RANGERS McGregor; Hutton, Weir, Cuellar, Whittaker;
Naismith, Ferguson, Thomson, McCulloch; Boyd,
Darcheville (Adam 32)
UNUSED SUBS Carroll, Hemdani, Broadfoot, Cousin,
Furman, Efrem
KILMARNOCK Combe; Murray, Ford, Hamill, Clancy; Dodds
(Nish 38), Fowler, Hamill (Fernandez 67), Taouil,
Invincible; Wales
UNUSED SUBS Harpur, Gibson, Koudou, Bryson, Jarvis
REFEREE Alan Freeland
Attendance 48,055