RANGERS got their Premiership title bid off to a winning start – but only just. They left it late, but they got there in the end.

Stephen O’Donnell had cancelled out Scott Arfield’s opener and looked to have earned Kilmarnock a point. But Connor Goldson netted a dramatic clincher with just seconds to spare as Rangers claimed all three points at Rugby Park.

It was far from a convincing performance from the Light Blues, though, and boss Steven Gerrard will undoubtedly demand, and expect, better sooner rather than later.

EVEN ON DAY ONE, THIS COULD BE A HUGE WIN FOR RANGERS

It was at Rugby Park in January where the momentum was taken out of Rangers’ title bid just weeks after their Old Firm win at Ibrox. From then, Steven Gerrard’s side never recovered.

They couldn’t afford a similar stumble here and they left it late to secure a win that could be so significant as they look to build up a head of steam over the opening weeks of the campaign.

With the visit of Celtic to come at the end of the month, Rangers need to have a flawless record over the next few games. That one then takes care of itself.

The scenes of celebration in the away end, and amongst Gerrard’s players, said everything. They knew how important a win this was at the end of a largely poor performance.

STEVEN DAVIS HAS STARTED THE SEASON IMPRESSIVELY

There was always the feeling that it was a case of form being temporary but class being permanent when Davis returned to Rangers in January. He didn’t exactly hit the ground running in the first few weeks, but he would finish the season showing why Gerrard brought him on board from Southampton.

The Northern Irishman was one of Rangers’ best performers in the friendly fixtures and early European outings and was missed in Luxembourg on Thursday night. After overcoming a hamstring problem, he was fit enough to start at Rugby Park.

His performance here will certainly encourage supporters and boss Gerrard. He showed composure on the ball, a terrific range of passing and used all his experience in an accomplished outing that marked him out as Rangers’ top man.

CROWD CONCERNS FOR KILMARNOCK

It was, as Steve Clarke said, his parting gift to Kilmarnock. Unfortunately, the home fans don’t appear to have been that grateful for it.

Kilmarnock cut Rangers’ allocation for the final game of last season and attracted a bumper home crowd. Once again, the Light Blue legions were only housed in one stand here and only Killie chiefs will be able to judge if the empty seats and lost income are worth it.

Of a greater concern was the worrying scenes before the match that saw hundreds of Gers fans unable to gain entrance to Rugby Park until well after kick-off. Whatever plans Killie had in place, they didn’t seem to be effective and the views and experiences of Rangers’ supporters must be taken into account going forward.

While the Gers fans were blameless for that, they have to take responsibility for the pitch invasion in the last minute. It was only a handful that ran onto the playing surface, but the celebrations need to be kept in the stands.

RUGBY PARK PITCH IS BETTER – BUT NOT BY MUCH

When Kilmarnock decided to rip up their plastic park over the summer, it was a call that would have been backed by many in Scottish football. Unfortunately, it was replaced with another one and it was given its Premiership debut here.

The debate about these surfaces in our game will never go away but this latest park did at least look a bit better than the one it replaced. At first glance, it seemed to play slightly better as well.

It certainly isn’t perfect, but it is here to stay after a considerable investment by the Killie board. It should be an advantage for the home side once again this term.

WELCOME BACK WILLIE COLLUM AND SCOTTISH REFEREES

This wasn’t one of those nightmare outings that Collum has every so often but it wasn’t a vintage showing from the whistler as he provoked outrage from both sets of fans.

The home crowd were upset that Alfredo Morelos and James Tavernier weren’t punished for persistent fouling but the Colombian’s battle with defender Stuart Findlay was certainly an entertaining watch.

It seemed an overly cautious approach from Collum at times and challenges that could have been let go were pulled up too easily. It all resulted in a pretty stop-start and tousy encounter and there was no real flow to the game.