THEY say that all political careers end in failure. Football is just as
harsh a trade. Rangers have been on the verge of disappointment for
months, but it must have been excruciating for Walter Smith that they
should tumble into desolation in the final seconds of his last game at
Ibrox. As his team hurled more and more players into strenuous and clumsy
attempts on goal,
Rangers were left vulnerable.
Pat Nevin found John Henry and his low cross from the
right was squeezed past Antti Niemi by
Ally Mitchell, the
substitute, to give
Kilmarnock victory. In that moment, it became
virtually inevitable that the League championship trophy will be taking
its leave of Ibrox at the same time as Smith and many celebrated players.
This game was supposed to be the occasion when
Rangers rallied, called upon traditional strengths and mounted a challenge
to Celtic that would be fired by pride and tradition.
Instead, we were to see comprehensive evidence of a team's
deterioration. Gordon Marshall, the Kilmarnock goalkeeper, needed to make
only one vibrant save, when he dived to his right to flick away Brian
Laudrup's drive.
For the most part, Rangers could bring only a lacklustre
diligence to their work and the searing pieces of invention on which they
have previously depended were totally absent.
Laudrup looked eager enough, but hardly ever got beyond the first layer
of
a
composed Kilmarnock defence. After this, Craig Brown must have even more
doubts about the wisdom of taking
Ally McCoist to the World Cup. The
substitute seemed to have all 35 of his years crashing down on his
shoulders as he made a ponderous attempt to wheel onto Laudrup's cut-back
in the 49th minute. Gus MacPherson blocked.
The frustration of Rangers was glaring when they
threw Richard Gough forward in the last 20 minutes. That strategy was made
to look futile by the orderly work of people such as Jim Lauchlan, a
centre-half with an aversion to the crude clearance. His insistence on
attempting to pick out a teammate, no matter how desperate the
circumstances, was impressive, even if it is likely to stop his manager's
heart.
With so many veterans at the club, Rangers' dwindling
resources have failed to last out a long season. It has been poignant to
watch players accustomed to success striving to ensure that happiness
endured just a little longer. Rangers had not really expected to be so
reliant on the faithful retainers, but the new recruits have been a
beleaguered band.
Some are injured, others failed to deal with the
demands of a club such as Rangers and Marco Negri, so prolific in the
first half of the season, now seems to be at odds with Rangers and cannot
command even a seat on the substitutes' bench. The bleakness of the
situation was only disguised in the spell before kick-off yesterday when
the players took the field with several mascots, including Laudrup's
children.
There was a benign, sunlit tone to the scene. The
abrasions of the match, however, soon scoured away that contentment.
Kilmarnock were too solid a team to allow Rangers an easy victory. They
have not come to the verge
of a Uefa Cup
place by capitulating and it was soon evident that most of the important
corridors had been closed off on the Ibrox pitch.
Beside Lauchlan, Ray Montgomerie,(left) the
veteran centre-half, was full of spring and tenacity. On the flanks, the
full-backs were supplemented by midfielders and ensured that the byline
was usually off limits to Rangers. There was much to admire in all
departments of the visitors' team, with Nevin operating thoughtfully and
the awkward Jerome Vareille waging a lonely war on Rangers' defence.
In the first half, the endeavour of both sides
produced equilibrium.
There was little controversy in yesterday's contest
and, for long periods, incident was also in short supply. MacPherson's
failure to clear, after 12 minutes, gave Laudrup an opportunity that he
drove wide, but the visitors threatened in the 35th minute. Niemi fended
away Vareille's attempt and Mark Reilly miscued the rebound.
Rangers were forced into increasingly anxious
endeavours and the possibilities for Kilmarnock on the counter-attack grew
throughout the second half. MacPherson received a luscious chance, after
61 minutes, when Vareille's pass sent him clear, but he betrayed his true
identity as a right-back by hesitating fractionally and then hitting a
moderate shot from which Niemi made a composed save.
Rangers support
ers had not expected to observe that
sort of sure handling from their team. None the less, this has been a
campaign in which the Ibrox fans have gradually discovered that the side
is no longer effective enough to be masters of its own fate. Great though
the anguish may have been, this result was not the inexplicable freak it
would have appeared in seasons gone by.
Rangers: Niemi, Cleland, Porrini (Ferguson
70), Gough, Amoruso, Bjorklund (McCoist
45), McCall (Durrant
80), Gattuso,
Durie, Albertz, Laudrup.
Kilmarnock: Marshall,
MacPherson,
Kerr, Lauchlan,
Montgomerie,
Reilly, Nevin,
Holt, Roberts (McGowne 85),
Vareille
(Henry 80),
Burke (Mitchell
67).
Scorer: Kilmarnock: Mitchell 90
Booked: Marshall (81min).
Referee: R Tait (East Kilbride).
Attendance:
50,116.
Bobby Williamson's Comments...Jerome
Veraille, (right) who worked tirelessly...."He has pace, strength and
links up well with the other players, I felt we created chances throughout
the game and we defended well. But the secret was that everyone worked so
hard and that pleased me more than anything else."
Walter Smith's Comments..."We
were not really in the title race six or seven weeks ago then hauled
ourselves back into contention. It is disappointing not to maintain our
challenge until the final hurdle. We have been inconsistent, losing to
Aberdeen, then beating Hearts last week and slipping up today. But
you have got to congratulate Kilmarnock on their performance. They played
well again against us today."
Rangers Captain Richard
Gough...., "This could be the first time in 10 years that
we have not won a championship and that hurts. I hope that it will hurt
the newer lads as much as it has hurt those of us who have been here
winning these titles. It will let them know what they have to do next year
when we have gone. Today it seemed as if we could have played forever
without being able to get a goal. It was terrible for us. Sentiment didn't
affect us, we just did not play well enough after pulling ourselves back
into a good position."
