HIS name was barely whispered throughout a fraught afternoon in Ibrox. As proceedings were brought to a close, the chorus of ‘Steven Gerrard’ that eventually echoed around the stadium carried a hope that afternoons of angst such as this will be rarities under the new Rangers regime.
Exactly 24 hours after the former Liverpool captain was unveiled as Graeme Murty’s successor, Jimmy Nicholl took temporary charge of a team that was battered at Celtic Park the previous weekend. While Gerrard was not present in the stands for his new club’s final home game of the season, those who were witnessed Kilmarnock almost claim another memorable result on their third outing in Govan this season, only to be undone by a David Bates header five minutes from time.
It was far from scintillating stuff from Rangers. To be fair, against a Steve Clarke team that has already taken a point and a victory here, it was never going to be the easiest return to duty following their Parkhead collapse six days earlier. And if we are honest the only thing Jamie McDonald had to do all afternoon was pick the ball out of his net. Yet adding in losing Murty at the start of the week, being put under the charge of a caretaker and the Gerrard circus reaching fever pitch on Friday, getting out with a win is all that could have realistically been asked for. And it was done with perseverance.
The three points that victory delivered also kept alive aspirations of finishing second in the Ladbrokes Premiership. Thanks to Aberdeen drawing with Hibernian at Pittodrie, Tuesday’s meeting in the North East could see Rangers jump two points clear of their hosts.
“I asked for a response and we got it. In fact, not just the win but if they hadn’t gone about the job in the way they did with urgency and determination I’d have been disappointed,” said Nicholl afterwards.
“They owed it to the club and the supporters to restore a wee bit of pride. There’s a way to lose games and the way we lost the last two games against Celtic wasn’t great. They restored a wee bit of pride and that’s all you are asking for.”
Gerrard’s message of ‘Bring it on’ was the most evocative of the many interviews he gave during Friday’s unveiling. At Ibrox yesterday, there was a feeling throughout this win – which over the piece was deserved – that bringing on next season and getting this one over as quickly as possible was the order of the day.
There will surely be changes when the former Liverpool man comes in on June 1, something Nicholl eluded to himself, but it was with a hint of frustration the one man who was the hero of the day will be the one who is certain not to still be here to greet the Liverpudlian in just under a month’s time.
Bates signed a pre-contract with Hamburg last month after rejecting what Rangers had put in front of him. In his first game since March, the 21-year-old centre-half walked claimed his first senior goal and the man-of-the-match award to go with it. His reading of the game yesterday was superb, while his athleticism undoubtedly was a key factor in keeping the likes of Eamonn Brophy and Jordan Jones out.
However, his award will no doubt be thanks to the goal that brought Rangers to within a point of Aberdeen to lift the mood at what had been a subdued Ibrox for the previous 85 minutes. It wasn’t spectacular, but effective as he got on the end of a deep Sean Goss cross to the back post to bundle the ball into the net. The crowd were on their feet, the mood was lifted, the Gerrard love in was kickstarted.
It was a cruel blow for a Kilmarnock side that up until that point looked like holding out for a draw. In the first half Jamie Murphy fired wide before his header from a Halliday cross skiffed the bar. At the opposite end, Aaron Tshibola was somehow denied by Alnwick with a stunning double save on the back of repelling Kris Boyd’s blootered low free-kick on 27 minutes.
Nicholl was forced into a change at the break as an under-the-weather Jason Cummings was replaced by Ross McCrorie. Despite the change in formation to a 4-2-3-1, Rangers’ forward play improved culminating in a series of near misses. McCrorie whistled two efforts just wide within 10 minutes of the restart, while Alfredo Morelos driven cross whistled along the face of goal unclaimed with just under 20 to go.
The only goal of the match started the party, but Kilmarnock very nearly pooped it at the death with a late cavalry charge. As did Morelos who, already on a yellow, got himself needlessly involved in an altercation with Stuart Findlay at the death that went unpunished from referee Alan Muir.
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