RANGERS climbed to second place in the Premiership standings as they recorded their biggest win of the league campaign against Kilmarnock.
Mark Warburton’s side were 3-0 winners at Ibrox thanks to goals from Lee Wallace, Andy Halliday and Joe Garner.
The Gers were booed off after their stalemate against St Johnstone on Wednesday night but the Light Blue legions were sent home happy by Warburton’s side this time out.
It has been a lacklustre start to the season for Rangers as they have fallen nine points off the pace being set by Celtic in the Premiership.
But this was one of their best showings of the campaign as Warburton’s side eased the pressure with a comfortable win.
A ‘Lest We Forget’ card display in the Sandy Jardine Stand greeted the players as they made their way out of the Ibrox tunnel as Rangers marked Remembrance Day.
The minutes silence was started and ended by an artillery gun at the side of the park before whistler John Beaton got the action underway.
Within seconds, the home crowd almost had a reason to cheer as Jason Holt unleashed the first effort of the afternoon that narrowly missed the target.
A jinking run and curling shot from Jordan Jones was the closest that the visitors came in the first half and it was no surprise when Rangers took a 15th minute lead.
Josh Windass split the Killie defence with a terrific pass and captain Wallace slotted the ball beyond Jamie MacDonald as he burst forward from left-back to net his first goal of the campaign.
Rangers have failed to turn their possession into goals on several occasions this term but Warburton’s side continued to look dangerous as they went in search of a second.
It came before the half hour from Halliday as he beat MacDonald from the spot after former Ger Steven Smith fouled Jason Holt.
The points were all but secured for Rangers at that stage and Ibrox was a far happier place as the Light Blues moved the ball with more speed and precision across the park.
Rangers picked up where they left off after the break and had their third goal inside a couple of minutes of the restart.
Garner got his first Ibrox strike in the draw with St Johnstone in midweek and he was on the score sheet again here, the striker in the right place at the right time to convert as he connected with a shot from Windass and diverted the ball beyond MacDonald.
It didn’t take long for Killie boss Lee Clark to turn to his bench for the first time and Kris Boyd got a warm reception from the home crowd on his return to Ibrox.
The action was at the other end of the park, though, with keeper MacDonald kept busy as Rangers continued to dominate the ball.
With the job done, it was understandable that Warburton’s side eased off as they controlled the game and closed in on a much-needed three points.
Garner and Kenny Miller were given standing ovations as they were replaced by Martyn Waghorn and Joe Dodoo. With 15 minutes left, Matt Crooks got his second run-out of the season as he took over from former Accrington team-mate Windass in midfield.
MacDonald parried away a curling effort from Waghorn before James Tavernier fired a free-kick over the bar from distance.
There would be no fourth goal for Warburton’s side but the three points were more than welcome as they moved up to second spot in the standings.
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