Blonde bombshell Alfredo Morelos was back with a bang as he put five-and-a-half months of injury frustration behind him to seal Rangers’ win over Kilmarnock.
And his half-hour run out will raise hopes that Gers now have the firepower to complete a successful Champions League salvage mission. Antonio Colak got Gio van Bronckhorst’s men off and running six minutes into the second half as he bagged the goal he hopes will ignite his own Ibrox career.
The big Croatian was brought in to challenge Gers’ Colombian king but you’d barely have known he was involved in either of his first two appearances for the club given how anonymous he was against Livingston and Union Saint-Gilloise. But the former PAOK ace made a major impression with his opener just after half-time. The return of Morelos and his new peroxide pelt was another big boost for the Rangers boss as his side gear up for Tuesday’s Champions League salvage mission against Union Saint-Gilloise.
And the club’s talisman gave Gers' sagging confidence levels a lift as he tapped home with two minutes remaining.After so long out, it’s unlikely his 30-minute cameo will have him fully back up to speed but the Light Blues need all the hope they can find as they look to turn over their 2-0 deficit.
They will need to show a good chunk more incisiveness than they managed against Derek McInnes’ team, though, having struggled to cut open the stubborn Killie side for large spells.
Ryan Kent was still missing despite GVB suggesting he’d be back in time for the clash with the Belgians but there was a full debut for Ridvan Yilmaz as he came into the team alongside Tom Lawrence, Steven Davis and Scott Wright.
Killie, meanwhile, handed an immediate debut to Reading loanee Jeriel Dorsett just 24 hours on from securing his services on a season-long switch.
It was about as one-sided a first-half display as can be imagined with Gers hogging 80 percent of the possession.
But as with Rangers’ two previous outings this term, that dominance on the ball didn’t exactly translate into clear-cut scoring opportunities as the Light Blues struggled to find the cutting edge required to slice through a Killie side content to set a stuffy stall out without ever trying to do much else.
It took just three minutes for the hosts to threaten Sam Walker’s goal for the first time as Scott Wright’s neat turn and pass sent Tillman into the box but the Bayern Munich kid struggled to get the ball untangled from his feet and by the time he did, he could only dig the ball against the shins of the Killie keeper.
Colak was looking to get more involved than he’d managed in his two largely anonymous run-outs previous to this one but could only drag wide as he burst into scoring territory.
Skipper James Tavernier was making his 350th appearance for the club but could not repeat last week’s winger at Livingston as Ash Taylor’s foul on Tillman set-up a similar set-piece opportunity to the one that had claimed the points at Almondvale.
Tillman was increasingly looking the man most likely to unpick McInnes’ tightly-packed yellow wall.
His fancy footwork opened space outside the box but Wright saw his effort from range parried away by Walker.
The Killie No.1 looked beaten all end up as Lawrence chested a loose ball down before taking aim with his right foot but there was more frustration in stow for the Ibrox men as his dipping volley came back off the crossbar.
Sands then found his fellow US international with a sweeping long pass. Again the control was instant from the 20-year-old but Connor Goldson could not take advantage of his tidy tee up as he cannoned the ball into the side netting.
Killie finally had a look at Jon McLaughlin’s goal three minutes into the second half but the Gers keeper need not have worried as Rory McKenzie flicked Fraser Murray’s cross high over the bar.
Instead, it was Gers who got the breakthrough they’d been craving on 51 minutes.
Colak’s one-two with Lawrence wasn’t the prettiest combination Ibrox has ever seen but the Croatian kept himself upright and his head clear as he rifled low past Walker for the opener.
The roar produced by the goal was almost matched by the one that greeted Morelos’ first appearance since March as he was introduced off the bench along with Rabbi Matondo and Borna Barisic on 63 minutes.
The Colombian was quickly in amongst the action but his finishing was showing some signs of rustiness after so long out as he dragged wide from a Lawrence pass.
A last-ditch tackle by Joe Wright then denied him another sighter as Tillman continued to pose problems for Killie with his touch and vision.
The failure to add a second added some tension in the final stages but neither Daniel Armstrong nor Alan Power could take advantage for the Rugby Park men
And the nerves were wiped away on 88 minutes as Morelos tapped home from close range as Matondo slalomed into the box before sending the ball across goal to the striker waiting at the back post,
Colak makes his mark
The summer signing from PAOK Salonika hasn’t exactly stood out in his first two appearances for Gers.
In fact, he only completed three passes during his 90 minutes at Almondvale - and two of them were kick-offs. Of course he was harsh done by in the curtain-raiser having had a goal wrongly chopped off.
But he will have done his own confidence levels the world of good this time as he opened his Gers account. From the off, Colak looked determined to get himself more involved. He still looks like he’s on a different wavelength from some of his team-mates at times but his determination to play a bigger part were clear.
He had a little luck as almost lost his footing in the build-up to his goal but once Lawrence returned the ball to him in the box, he showed what he’s capable of with decent service, rifling a well-taken low drive past Walker.
Rangers must be slicker
The 2-0 win over Derek McInnes’ team is just what Rangers needed after their sobering loss in the Belgian beer capital on Tuesday night.
They lacked movement and intensity as they slumped to Union Saint-Gilloise in Leuven.
But there were far more encouraging signs here for GVB.
Malik Tillman continues to settle in well at Ibrox, with the on-loan Bayern Munich playmaker showing an array of clever touches and nice passes as the Light Blues sought to beat down the door to Killie’s goal.
Tom Lawrence looked more assured on the lush Ibrox turf than he had on Livi’s plastic pitch last week while 60 minutes will have benefited Ridvan Yilmaz a week after arriving in Scotland.
But there were also times when Rangers looked to be running out of ideas, just as they had done against Union. They can’t afford to let their reserves of creativity run dry if they are to remain on course for the Champions League group stages.
Drab day for Del
McInnes succeeded in ending Aberdeen’s quarter-century wait for a win in Govan while in charge of the Dons but there was little sign of similar ambition as he returned to Ibrox with his Ayrshire outfit.
Of course, survival is key for Kilmarnock on their return to the top-flight and the Rugby Park boss will know his side are unlikely to find the points they need to keep them up in Glasgow.
But there was little in this performance to get the band of Killie fans who’d made their way up the M74 excited.
They did well to frustrate Gers during the opening 45 minutes but once Colak had fired the hosts ahead, a change of approach was called for.
They waited until the final 10 minutes to make their move but neither Daniel Armstrong nor Alan Power could exploit the sense of tension sweeping round Ibrox and the chance to create an upset went with Morelos’ goal.
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