The Gers Forum

Six doors remain unopened on Rangers SPL title advent calendar after two second half goals secured what had at times appeared to be an unlikely victory at Rugby Park. The arrival of the twa Jimmies in the Killie dug-out has clearly given the home side a shot in the arm and the manner in which they set about their task suggested that they harboured every intention of emulating their victory over Celtic last month by claiming an even bigger Old Firm scalp.

Rangers presented an unchanged line-up from the weekend’s win over St Mirren, with Danny Wilson continuing to deputise for Madjid Bougherra, who was rested as a precaution while he recovers from a hamstring injury. Allan Russell and James Fowler returned to the starting line-up for the hosts, while former Celtic sensation, David Fernandez watched from the bench.

The opening exchanges were as scrappy as one might expect from a midweek contest at Rugby Park, with neither team being able to assert any real dominance on possession of the ball. Kenny Miller, Lee McCulloch and Kris Boyd all attempted to threaten the sanctity of Cammy Bell’s goal with varying levels of success before the first clear cut chance of the game fell to the home side. Alan McGregor – who appeared to be experimenting with Teflon-coated gloves for the evening – spilled a routine cross from Iain Flannigan. The visiting support watched in horror as Medhi Taouil seemed poised to burst the net from point-blank range but McGregor managed to redeem himself by smothering the Moroccan’s effort. Further Emu-esque antics from McGregor almost presented Manual Pascali with a gift a few minutes later but the Rangers keeper managed to gather at the second attempt.

With the sides level at the interval, Calderwood must have been the happier of the two managers because Rangers had appeared both toothless upfront and shaky at the back in contrast with the doggedness of the home side. Killie were playing for SPL survival and this showed in the hunger of their first-half performance.

One might suspect that Walter Smith planted his foot through a number of bahookeys during the interval because the Rangers who emerged for the second period had a much more purposeful look about them. Kris Boyd should have opened the scoring shortly after the restart when a Lee McCulloch flick-on left the goal gaping at the normally prolific hitman’s mercy. But Boyd failed to connect properly with the ball, leaving Jamie Hamill to make a relatively comfortable goal-line clearance.

The breakthrough arrived on fifty-five minutes. Steven Whittaker has often looked less than convincing when under pressure as a full-back but the danger he poses opposition goalkeepers is now beginning to verge on the remarkable. Showing his strikers how it should be done, he latched onto a loose headed clearance from Tim Clancy, then waltzed through the Killie rear-guard before drilling the ball low beyond Bell with lethal precision. This was Whittaker’s 11th goal of the season in all competitions - a stat which was even deemed worthy of individual praise during his manager’s post-match interview.

Six minutes later, the points were all but secured when Kenny Miller pounced on a spilled effort from Steve Davis to lash the ball high into the net beyond the despairing Bell. Predatory prowess has arguably never been Miller’s forte in years gone by, however this season he appears to have taken a leaf out of his striking partner's book of clinical finishing. Boyd on the other hand wasn’t altogether at the races himself. Just as in December against Dundee United, when everything he hit seemed to end up in the back of the net; the opposite was true against his former side – against whom he has an exceptional goalscoring record. In fairness to the big hitman, he had to feed off half chances at best throughout the evening and while his performance may have lacked goals, industry was present in abundance.

Miller’s goal finally knocked the stuffing out of Kilmarnock and from that point onwards Rangers only looked likely to widen their lead. Boyd again and Novo both came close while a typically mazy run from Whittaker almost rewarded him with a second goal but he dragged his shot agonisingly wide of Bell’s post.

Tuesday’s victory leaves Walter Smith’s men thirteen points clear of their nearest pursuers with less than a quarter of the league campaign left to play. Who would have predicted such a scenario at the end of last September, when Rangers had failed to score in three successive league games, or October, by which time a series of disappointing Champions League results threatened to decimate morale? That Walter Smith has overcome these setbacks whilst enduring incessant media speculation over his own future, amid a climate of boardroom volatility speaks volumes as to the calibre of the man. To the Rangers fans, Tuesday night represented taking one step closer to the championship – to Walter Smith, it was just another day at the office.