Kilmarnock 1-2 Rangers: Late winner stuns Killie

The Scottish Premiership is officially underway, as we begin the process of seeing whether or not anyone can dethrone Celtic at the top of the table. Two of the leading contenders in that race are Kilmarnock and Rangers, and when they squared off in their season opener earlier today, they certainly didn’t disappoint as they provided fans with a whole lot of entertainment value.

Pushing back

Throughout the course of the game Steven Gerrard’s side had been giving off the impression of a club that were in complete control, as they continually pushed Killie back and asserted their authority over them in the process. This comes off the back of their early success in the Europa League, which is a competition that the home side would prefer you didn’t mention.

Rangers’ early pressure paid off, as Scott Arfield was able to put the visitors into the lead just over a quarter of an hour into the game. It seemed like their advantage of having winning momentum on their side was going to bode well for them, as they took the lead all the way through to the latter stages of the game.

Getting the job done

Unfortunately, Rangers just can’t seem to shake this feeling of dread when they go into the lead. They seem to panic and start making mistakes that they really shouldn’t be making, conceding late goals in the process. That once again proved to be the case as Stephen O’Donnell smashed in an equaliser with just minutes remaining, in what would’ve been a pretty undeserving point for the home side.

Then, in injury time, Rangers fans were sent into a state of ecstasy as Connor Goldson headed in a late winner to give them all three points. Unfortunately, this led to some over the top celebrations from the supporters in attendance, as hey wound up damaging a roof that covered disabled supporters in the away end.

Kilmarnock will now turn their attention towards a double header against Hamilton in both the Premiership and League Cup, whereas Rangers will travel to take on Midtjylland in the Europa League before a returning to league action against Hibernian.

Match Report

Kilmarnock: Branescu (6.5), O’Donnell (7), Broadfoot (6.5), Findlay (7), Taylor (6.5), Power (6), Dicker (5.5), El Makrini (6), Burke (6.5), Brophy (6), McKenzie (6), Kiltie (6.5), Bruce (N/A)

Rangers: Foderingham (6.5), Tavernier (6), Goldson (7), Katic (6.5), Barisic (6), Davis (6.5), Jack (6), Aribo (6.5), Ojo (6), Arfield (6.5), Morelos (6), Edmundson (N/A), Jones (N/A), Stewart (N/A)

Referee: William Collum

Goals: O’Donnell :: Arfield, Goldson

Yellow Cards: Power, Dicker, Tavernier

Red Cards: N/A