Rangers came from behind yet again to make it seven wins in eight games under Michael Beale as they beat Kilmarnock 3-2 in the Scottish Premiership.
After a weekend where both sides were involved in semi-final action, Kilmarnock and Rangers spent their Wednesday night battling for three points in the Scottish Premiership at Rugby Park.
Kilmarnock came flying out the blocks and caused Rangers problems early on. Liam Polworth almost provided an assist for the opener as he flashed a ball behind the Rangers backline but Connor Goldson was able to get the vital touch and put it out for a Kilmarnock corner.
The Ayrshire club kept the pressure on and almost took the lead from the corner as Ash Taylor had a free header which he put wide of the post, one he will rue when he sees it back, as McLaughlin had left his line. The pressure did not stop there and after Tavernier put Goldson in trouble, Rangers had to defend another corner.
Danny Armstrong, the standout against Celtic at Hampden, whipped an excellent cross in which Christopher Stokes did brilliant to connect and put the ball past Jon McLaughlin and Kilmarnock in front in just six minutes.
Armstrong was looking to continue his fine form as Killie's leading goal scorer and was heavily involved as he kept Borna Barisic busy down the right hand side.
Twenty minutes had passed when Alan Power picked up his fifth yellow card of the season for pulling back Scott Arfield.
Rangers ramped up the pressure and twenty-two minutes in, Alfredo Morelos scored yet again against Kilmarnock to equalise after Fashion Sakala found him brilliantly at the back stick with a tap in. The Colombian then proceeded to make sure the home fans were aware of what had happened as he replied to their constant boos by cupping his ears.
The astro turf affair then became fiery as both teams were flying into tackles and Dany Armstrong was next to be booked for fouling Ryan Kent shortly before Alfredo Morelos joined him after catching him when attempting to block the ball, although it looked soft on replay.
The tackles were starting to take effect as Rory McKenzie received a sore one from Scott Arfield and thirty-seven minutes in his match was over as he was replaced by Blair Alston.
Between then and half-time both sides saw half-chances come and go, with Kyle Vassell striking an effort down the throat of Jon McLaughlin in the Rangers goal before Ryan Kent had an effort from range deflected into Sam Walkers hands.
The second forty-five started fairly slowly, but was burst alive six minutes into the restart as Rangers countered from a James Tavernier clearance. Ryan Kent chased down the ball before delivering a poor ball behind both forwards, however Morelos recovered it and was able to find Ryan Kent who then put Rangers ahead superbly from just inside the 18-yard box as he deceived Killie goalkeeper Sam Walker and slotted it into the bottom left corner.
The feisty affair continued in the second half as goal scorer Ryan Kent was booked for a late tackle on Danny Armstrong and as an hour had passed, the Kilmarnock winger found himself involved again, this time for the wrong reasons as he was given his marching orders. After Rangers had defused a Kilmarnock chance, Borna Barisic cleared and Armstrong, signed on a free in the summer of 2021. stuck his elbow up high and into the Croatians face, leaving referee Kevin Clancy with no choice but to give him a second yellow card.
McInnes was then forced to change things and did so by bringing Kerr McInroy on for Christian Doidge. Rangers used the extra man advantage well, as seventy-two minutes in Alfredo Morelos had his second and Rangers' third. Some linkup play on the edge of the box saw Glen Kamara find Barisic at the left hand side of the box and his deflected cross met the head of Morelos who tucked it past Sam Walker into the bottom right corner.
The star man was then replaced by youngster Malik Tillman as Kilmarnock brought on Kyle Lafferty and Scott Robinson in an attempt to force a comeback. The last of the substitutes came when American James Sands replaced Glen Kamara for Rangers with a little over five minutes left.
Kilmarnock found hope when Joe Wright sent a superb volley flying past the Rangers goalie and suddenly it was game on for the last five minutes as the ten men tried to salvage a hard-fought point. Ash Taylor and Wright combined for the goal after captain Alan Power had delivered a long ball into the box.
Lafferty almost marked his return to league action to superb fashion as he hit one from 20 yards out. However, despite movement on the balls flight, McLaughlin dealt with it and helped Rangers to see out a nervy couple of minutes and take all three points.
Rangers now have seven wins in eight games in the Michael Beale era as they look to do everything they can to keep pressure on Celtic, who stay nine points ahead.
After the match, Michael Beale spoke to RangersTV and hit out at the astro turf pitch, saying he had "never seen a good game on this surface", admitting Kilmarnock made it difficult but praised the players saying "We recovered really well" when speaking about going a goal behind.
Derek McInnes defended Danny Armstrong after the game, saying he "thought it was really soft" when interviewed by Sky Sports.
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