3 Points, One Step Closer To Title 54

Rangers started their defence of the SPL crown with a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock at Ibrox. Goals from Kenny Miller and Steven Naismith put Rangers in pole position for the victory, but a Jamie Hamill penalty made it a nervy end to the game for the Gers.

New signing James Beattie was given his Rangers debut this afternoon as the Gers embarked on their new season with the traditional unfurling of the league flag by chairman Alistair Johnston. Kyle Lafferty and Steven Whittaker were deployed in the wide areas with Steven Naismith playing in central midfield as Steven Davis missed out with a virus. Despite the pre-match celebrations, the opposition Kilmarnock under new manager Mixu Paateleinen came to Ibrox as pure underdogs and will walk away with some credibility after a decent showing.

Miller congratulated by Broadfoot and Lafferty

Ibrox was in fine voice early on as the Gers started at an excellent tempo creating a few glimpses of goal in the process. Kilmarnock struggled to deal with the Rangers onslaught and were fortunate not to concede after 13 minutes when Kenny Miller’s deflected shot flew just over the bar after neat play by Kirk Broadfoot. Just three minutes later, the Gers were infront when Steven Naismith’s corner was met by Broadfoot who fired in a low shot which was saved on the line but ended up deflecting off Miller’s back and going into the net. To their credit, Kilmarnock stepped out and gave Rangers some nervy moment as the champions showed a bit of slackness in their play. David Silva’s cross found James Fowler at the back post and he skied under no pressure from the Rangers defence.

Naismith fires home second goal

Steven Naismith had an excellent game in central midfield and was a stand-out from anyone else on the pitch, in my opinion. The former Killie man got his name on the scoresheet when he fired in a right-foot shot after latching on to Kenny Miller’s flick-on. The visitors still felt they were in the game and had a strong travelling support to urge them on. Centre-back Manuel Pascali was probably the stand-out performer for Killie but goalkeeper Cameron Bell made some excellent saves, including one stunning stop from James Beattie in the first-half. Sasa Papac bundled over James Dayton inside the box which gave Paateleinen’s side a lifeline in the game and Jamie Hamill cooly slotted home down the centre of the goal.

James Beattie left the pitch to a standing ovation and was replaced by youngster Kyle Hutton as the Gers went to a 4-5-1 to keep the points save. Hutton looked very good in his brief spell on the park, making some tidy passes and one strong, dynamic run through the Kilmarnock defence. Killie brought on Connor Sammon as they went 4-4-2 towards the end but the stubborn Rangers defence were not in the mood to share anything this afternoon.