Rangers 0 - 1 Kilmarnock: Visitors steal show as Rangers fans display their best and worst

KILMARNOCK may have been extras in this sold-out Govan production on Saturday, just as their manager Kenny Shiels had predicted, but they duly stole the show from the main players in the grisly drama currently being presented by Rangers.

The biggest attendance of the season at Ibrox, even eclipsing the Old Firm gate of last September by 47 souls, was an impressive and defiant response from the Rangers support to the crisis which began to engulf their club in tangible terms last week with the slide into administration.

Sadly, it brought out both the best and the worst among those to whom this 140-year-old institution means so much. The voluble re-emergence of sectarian songs and chants, which can not have escaped the attention of the SPL match delegate, was lamentable and mindless.

It turned out be an equally dispiriting day on the pitch for Rangers where Ally McCoist’s team were unable to feed off the raw energy of a fevered atmosphere in the positive manner many had anticipated.

Those predictions of a rousing home win perhaps failed to take into account the generally poor standard of performance which has been evident from Rangers for many weeks now, not to mention the effectiveness of a Kilmarnock side which, while inconsistent, can trouble any SPL opposition.

The battle for the very survival of Rangers will insulate McCoist against any criticism of his managerial capabilities and there are significant mitigating factors in the January sale of Nikica Jelavic and severe weakness of attacking resources available to him.

But, even allowing for the standard of personnel currently at his disposal, this was an abject display from Rangers which, in normal circumstances, would have seen abuse heaped upon both manager and players from the stands.

Irrespective of the ten-point penalty imposed by the SPL for going into administration, it would be impossible to make a credible case for this Rangers team retaining the title. The real task in their remaining 11 league fixtures is to hold on to second place in the table, with Motherwell now just six points behind them with a game in hand.

Rangers’ difficulties on that front intensified on Saturday with the straight red card shown to Sasa Papac forcing him out of next Sunday’s trip to Inverness, while Maurice Edu’s booking also takes him across the disciplinary threshold. These are minor issues, of course, when set against the club’s off-the-field crisis, but they nonetheless impinge on McCoist’s efforts to provide some positive relief on the pitch.

There was none on Saturday, where all the credit belonged to Kilmarnock. Far from being intimidated by the atmosphere created by the Rangers fans, Shiels’ men thrived on it and played with a combination of intelligence and composure which should have earned them a more convincing victory.

One goal proved enough to win it, a fine 12th-minute strike from Dean Shiels. Garry Hay and Paul Heffernan combined to create the opening for the manager’s son whose right-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area beat Allan McGregor low to the goalkeeper’s right.

Heffernan and Dean Gordon both missed good chances to increase the lead before Rangers withdrew the ill and clearly out of sorts Dorin Goian in the 20th minute and replaced him with Ross Perry in central defence.

Prospects of a Rangers recovery diminished with Papac’s dismissal two minutes before half-time, the Bosnian guilty of a reckless and unnecessary studs-up challenge on Liam Kelly. Although the home side actually performed with greater purpose with ten men in the second-half, and were unfortunate to have a Lee McCulloch goal disallowed by referee Iain Brines, it was with a degree of comfort that Kilmarnock completed home and away victories over Rangers in an SPL season for the first time.

It was an especially satisfying day for Celtic defender Lewis Toshney, currently on loan at Killie, who was one of the visitors’ stand-out performers at right-back. The 19-year-old Dundonian, however, tempered his joy with genuine concern for his friends in the Rangers’ squad who face uncertainty over their employment in the coming weeks.

“I know a few of the Rangers boys through the Scotland international squads,” said Toshney. “I know Gregg Wylde and Ross Perry and they are both good guys. They have a difficult week ahead and I just wish them all the best.

“I hope they come through it, I really do. I keep in contact with Gregg a lot, so I will be sending him a few texts to see how he is getting on. I do have sympathy for the Rangers players and it is bad what the club is going through. It’s bad for any club to go through, not just Rangers who are a massive club. This was the first time I’ve played at Ibrox, although I’ve played in under-19 Old Firm games. It was a brilliant experience and even better to get the win. The atmosphere was incredible, especially at the start. It was like an Old Firm game but we really stood up to Rangers.

“We knew they would come at us early because of the atmosphere and because of what has been happening. But that was nothing to do with us. We just had to stick to our own task and we did that. I don’t know if there was anybody here from Celtic watching me but I’m sure I’ll be getting plenty of messages and texts about it.”