Falkirk 1 - 3 Rangers: Boyd's brace has Gers all smiley again

Published on Saturday 5 December 2009 23:17

Moutinho 41 Boyd 17, 36; Miller (pen) 74

SOMETHING of a renaissance day for Rangers. Everybody turned up – Madjid Bougherra started ahead of the rested Danny Wilson – and wonder of wonders, nobody fell out. No raised voices in the dressing room and no daggers drawn on the pitch. Kenny Miller and Bougherra, Davie Weir and Kyle Lafferty, brothers in arms again. Smiley, happy people once more.

Miller's penalty, given in error, put the seal on things, but Kris Boyd did the donkey work with two more goals that brought his SPL tally to 151, just seven behind Henrik Larsson's record. If you think it's blasphemy mentioning the two guys in the same sentence, well, undoubtedly it is. But the numbers don't lie. And to think they're prepared to get rid of this guy.

The first telling blow was landed by Boyd but, really, it was all about Bougherra, the lost sheep returned to the flock. Everything about the Algerian screamed a desire to please. Walter Smith said later that it was a difficult decision leaving Wilson out, but he made the call and the Algerian didn't let him down. Even the Rangers fans, previously seething at the defender's unprofessionalism, were beginning to forgive and forget come the 18th minute, because in the preamble to Boyd's opener we saw the best of Bougherra, picking up possession a mile out from Falkirk's goal, playing it upfield, galloping down the right wing on to Steven Davis's pass and squaring for Boyd to poke it home.

God help the club if they allow him to walk out the door next month.

Games like this would become an almighty struggle for Rangers if it

wasn't for Boyd. Indeed, the whole SPL wouldn't be the same without him and his travails, his one-man soap opera that has kept us interested for so long. When he scored his first yesterday, he lifted his shirt just above the belly button and tapped his tummy, a message to the home fans who'd been suggesting he was a bit of a fatso. He got booked for it. Referee Willie Collum had a sense of humour bypass in the moment. "Some of these refs get too involved," said Boyd, later. "Why can't you have banter out there? If the fans give it, I don't see why they can't take it."

Falkirk would have felt aggrieved to be behind, for they'd started reasonably. But soon they were in danger of getting crushed. This game would have been over and done with had it not been for the formidable Robert Olejnik in the Falkirk goal. He's a fine keeper, this guy. Alert and brave. Boyd and Miller worked a little one-two that saw Boyd go in on goal, only for Olejnik to cut out the danger. Moments later, a terrific crossfield ball from Boyd – yes, Boyd – found Nacho Novo and again Olejnik was forced into action.

But it wasn't just the one goalkeeper who was doing his stuff, Allan McGregor was at it as well. You've got to hand it to McGregor. Six months ago his career was in the toilet and you wondered what would become of him. Now, he's Scotland's finest goalie. Eight minutes before the break, Rangers scored again and just as Bougherra deserved some of the kudos for the opener, McGregor was due a salute for his work leading up to the second.

It had its origins in a golden chance for Falkirk, a ball played through a flat Rangers defence by Pedro Moutinho and seized upon by Scott Arfield. One on one with McGregor, Arfield had to score. He placed his shot away to the goalkeeper's left but McGregor stuck out a leg and flicked it away. From there, Rangers kicked on. Sasa Papac hoofed it up the park, Davis drove through the middle, Miller picked it up wide on the right and when his cross came in, an unmarked Boyd whipped it past the helpless Olejnik.

Rangers had avoided trouble, just, but their luck ran out before the half was done. McGregor did his best to keep Falkirk out, pulling off another excellent, close-range save from Moutinho, but from the resulting Chris Mitchell corner, the optimistically named Pele headed down for Moutinho to stab home. Now, we've seen Rangers wobble more than once in these types of situations this season, so the way in which Smith's team closed down the match thereafter was impressive.

Inside the opening 20 minutes of the second half they could have scored three times, Novo, Miller and Lee McCulloch all going close. Later on, they probably should have added two more but Miller and the substitute Kyle Lafferty found Olejnik too hard to beat. They had, of course, sunk into the cushion of a third goal by then, albeit a fortunate one.

Darren Barr gave away a penalty for a foul on another Rangers replacement, DaMarcus Beasley, but the American handled the ball before Barr intervened and Collum never twigged. "Handball is handball," said a tired Barr. "You've got to get these decisions right." Boyd was off the field by then with a thigh strain that makes him a doubt for the trip to Seville, so Miller stood up and smashed it hard and true past Olejnik. Game over.