NOTHING is ever straightforward where Rangers are concerned these days but here at last was something for their long-suffering supporters to smile about.
After three successive defeats in three different competitions, and with off-field acrimony building the closer it gets to next month's potentially epochal general meeting, this victory over Raith Rovers not only enhanced their promotion prospects but also brought some much-needed relief for manager Kenny McDowall and his beleaguered players.
A fourth successive defeat would have meant their worst run of results for almost 30 years but, on a freezing night in Kirkcaldy, that never looked on the cards.
Rangers, though, made it harder than it ought to have been. Thoroughly dominant, leading by two goals and lashing in shot after shot, an unlikely Raith counter after 70 minutes temporarily set them back and allowed doubts to again seep in. This time, though, there would be no late collapse, Rangers holding on comfortably to move back above Hibernian into second place in the SPFL Championship table.
There was even a rarely-spotted goal from Kris Boyd for the travelling support to savour, the striker effectively ensuring the victory with his team's second goal bundled in from close range 10 minutes into the second half. It had looked like being another frustrating night for Boyd as he did everything but score in a performance that was replete in craft but surprisingly wasteful at the key moments.
He was unfortunate to see a header bash against the crossbar, while other attempts went wide of target or failed to trouble the goalkeeper. Boyd, though, is nothing if not persistent and his endeavour was belatedly rewarded as he nicked the ball from the impressive Haris Vuckic to prod in a shot from around eight yards, having taken a fresh-air shot earlier in the build-up. Without a goal to his name since the end of November, and none in the league since late October, Boyd could not have looked happier as he plodded away to celebrate in front of the travelling support.
How Nicky Clark must have wished for some of his strike partner's good fortune. Restored to the starting line-up for the first time since December, the forward was unfortunate not to score in a bright performance that just lacked greater composure in front of goal. He headed wide from a Vuckic free kick plopped right on his head, volleyed over the crossbar, and saw another acrobatic effort early in the second half also narrowly fail to find the target. There was plenty to admire in Clark's overall play but he still cut a frustrated figure when he was substituted late in the game having failed to convert one of the chances that had come his way. He remains without a goal to his name since November 8.
As Boyd and Clark toiled away to little avail, it had taken a spectacular strike to bring an end to Raith's doughty resistance after 35 minutes. It is a moment likely to live long in the memory of Andy Murdoch, both because of its significance and the nature of it as he received a pass from Lee Wallace, took one touch before unleashing a ferocious right-foot drive from the edge of the area that arrowed right into the top corner. On just his fourth first-team appearance, the 20 year-old had his first Rangers goal. Should he play for a further 15 years he will struggle to score one better.
Rangers continued to create but waste chances. David McGurn, the Raith goalkeeper, thwarted them at every turn, pushing away a Vuckic shot, denying Boyd again and somehow repelling a Sebastian Faure shot from a matter of yards. On another night Rangers may have regretted their profligacy but not this time.
Raith had gone into the game on the back of a seven-match undefeated streak and looking to enhance their slim chances of making the play-offs. That made their lacklustre performance in the early stages all the more surprising as they struggled to contain Rangers and failed to lay a glove on them at the other end. It took until late in the game before they finally bared their teeth, reducing the deficit with 20 minutes remaining with a goal wholly against the run of play. It was a decent effort from Ryan Conroy but one helped beyond Lee Robinson with a sizeable deflection off the helpless Lee Wallace. On another night Rangers may have wobbled but for once this was a contest with a happy ending.
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