Rangers on the rampage against Kilmarnock

A rampant first-half display by Rangers saw them return to the top of the Scottish Premier League with a 3-0 win over Kilmarnock on Saturday.

Kris Boyd came back to haunt his former side when he netted an early opener before Kenny Miller doubled the lead in the 25th minute.

Steven Whittaker got the third ten minutes before the break as the home side looked liked scoring with every attack.

However the score-line doesn’t tell the full story and Kilmarnock spurned several chances themselves with Rangers’ clinical finishing the difference between the sides.

The win puts Walter Smith’s side one point clear of Celtic who face Dundee United on Sunday. After a week where the state of the national team came in for severe criticism in the wake of manager George Burley’s sacking, Rangers started the match with nine Scots in their starting line-up.

Teenager Danny Wilson kept his place in the centre of defence due to yet another late return from international duty by Algerian defender Madjid Bougherra and the 17-year-old had his hands full dealing with Kevin Kyle in the opening minutes.

The giant forward came close to opening the scoring when he leaped above Wilson at the far post to head Garry Hay’s floated cross from the left goalwards but Allan McGregor made the save.

However it was the home side which took the lead in the seventh minute when Boyd beat the offside trap to score his sixth of the season. Kevin Thomson played a beautifully weighted pass to Boyd and the former Killie striker fired a low angled shot into the bottom corner of the net to score his 14th goal against his old club.

Boyd thought he had scored again two minutes later when Lee McCulloch played him in to the box but the flag was up for offside as he slotted past Mark Brown.

McGregor made a good save low down from a Manuel Pascali volley before Naismith’s fierce first-time hit from Boyd’s knockdown was blocked by the legs of Brown.

Rangers got their second in the 25th minute through Miller. McCulloch cushioned a Whittaker long-ball into his path and he took a touch before finishing low past Brown.

Kilmarnock were still creating chances and Kyle produced a fine save out of McGregor with a drive from 25 yards out. Whittaker made it 3-0 in the 35th minute when Miller raced down the right-wing and picked out him out with a cut-back.

The defender’s first shot was blocked by Frazer Wright but the rebound fell to his feet and he finished low past Brown at the second time of asking. A second-half downpour seemed to dampen the quality on show from both sides.

Sasa Papac curled a shot round Brown’s far post before Miller hit a weak shot straight at the keeper after being played in by Boyd. At the other end Wilson dealt well with the aerial threat of Kyle as he twice beat him to a header to clear the danger from Hay’s crosses from the left.

Lafferty replaced goalscorer Boyd and the Northern Irish international saw his header cleared off the line before setting up Thomson to fire a shot off the post at the death.

McGregor denied Killie a late consolation with a superb save from Hay’s free-kick in injury time.

Bottom club Falkirk picked up their first win of the season with a 2-0 defeat of Hamilton, Motherwell drew 1-1 with Aberdeen, Hibernian were held to a 1-1 draw by St Mirren while a last minute goal by Jonatan Johansson – his first in the SPL for ten years – secured a 2-1 win for St Johnstone over Hearts.