80 mins
Kilmarnock shocked Rangers and breathed new life into the title race as Manuel Pascali's header gave them a first home win over the Ibrox side since 1994.
Ally McCoist's team were looking to equal an 82-year-old club record by remaining unbeaten on the road for a 15th consecutive game.
However, Kilmarnock had other ideas and Pascali's 80th-minute header from Garry Hay's lofted pass secured victory.
Rangers now lead Celtic by four points after their first loss of the season.
Within the first
minute, debutant
Sone Aluko
supplied Steven
Davis inside the
box, but his
cross from the
right for Nikica
Jelavic was just
too strong and
the Croatian
could not
connect in front
of goal.
Aluko looked in the mood and played in Jelavic who hit the post, although the offside flag had gone up for a tight decision.
Kilmarnock, forced to substitute the injured midfielder Danny Buijs for Danny Racchi after seven minutes, briefly threatened from a rare foray upfield as Pascali saw a header blocked from a corner.
Kenny Shiels' side were soon in trouble again as goalkeeper Cammy Bell was challenged by Jelavic as he prepared to kick clear, but the ball bounced out for a throw-in.
The Ayrshire side slowly grew in confidence as the game remained goalless and Rangers were dealt a blow as the injured Kyle Lafferty had to be replaced by youngster Kane Hemmings.
The Rugby Park side's Gary Harkins went down after a shoulder-to-shoulder tussle with Kirk Broadfoot in the penalty box, but the referee was unmoved.
McCoist's side replied with a shot from Hemmings which stung the palms of Bell.
Rangers then had a strong penalty claim on the brink of half-time when Hay took out Aluko in the box in a goalmouth scramble before McCulloch's shot hit the side netting.
Kilmarnock made a strong start to the second period and Dean Shiels' through ball found Harkins only for Steven Whittaker to block his effort and concede a corner.
From the resultant set-piece by Shiels, the ball cracked off Jelavic's head and smacked against the crossbar with Allan McGregor beaten.
It was the Ibrox side's turn to threaten next as Hemmings released Aluko, whose powerful effort was cleared off the line by James Fowler with Bell beaten.
The action switched to the other end after 65 minutes when Liam Kelly's defence-splitting pass sent Paul Heffernan one-on-one with McGregor, but the Rangers No 1 stretched out his left hand to divert the ball clear.
McCoist's men had a fantastic chance to take the lead when handed a free kick 20 yards from goal, but Davis could only fire straight into the opposition wall.
Aluko still had plenty of energy left and his left-foot shot drive trundled into the box and hit the base of the post and Hemmings could not convert the rebound.
The
miss was to
prove costly as
Kilmarnock swept
upfield and Hay
lofted a hopeful
ball into the
box from around
25 yards.
Aluko failed to step out with the rest of Rangers' defence and Manuel Pascali connected to head past McGregor and put the home side ahead.
Substitute Alejandro Bedoya shot straight at Bell from inside the box in the closing seconds as Kilmarnock held on for a famous victory.
Kenny Shiels
Post Match
Comments..."It
was a great
result for us.
We spoke about
this during the
week. I've been
on the receiving
end of things
like this in the
past. I felt we
could win this
game if we
worked in
certain areas.
It worked really
well for us.
Destiny has a
part to play in
these things at
times. Rangers
hit the post,
Alejandro Bedoya
had a chance at
the end. When
you lose a match
like they did,
sometimes you
just need to say
it wasn't to be.
I think the bad
luck we've had
this season, if
we can call it
that, was
cancelled out. I
don't want that
to take away
from the
players'
performance,
though. We have
a good chemistry
in there. It was
a collective
performance.They
must do the same
to Aberdeen next
week, otherwise
their victory
will be
meaningless.
Usually we turn
victories into
draws. This can
only help with
their
self-belief. I
took the kids
into the
dressing room at
full-time. I
told them to
look at the
senior pros.
Guys like Manuel
Pascali and
Garry Hay, the
example they
showed today.
It's part of the
young players'
responsibility
to develop that.
What it means to
us is that it
must help our
self-belief.
There's no point
just turning up
for the Old Firm
games. We've got
Aberdeen next
week and if we
don't perform to
the same level
then all this
will have been
pointless. We've
got to turn up
for games
outside of the
Old Firm. It's
been such a long
haul waiting for
Kilmarnock to
beat Rangers. We
put a lot of
effort into the
psychology and
the shirts we
were playing. We
did some work on
tactics, but a
lot of the work
this week was
mental. This has
been my most
satisfying win,
definitely. It
takes a
magnificent
effort to beat
the Old Firm and
you need a
little bit of
luck here and
there. When it
happens it
becomes really
self-satisfying,
but it's the
summer and the
swallow thing.
We have to go on
now. But listen,
we could have
lost that game
1-0 and I would
still have been
proud had they
given me
everything they
had. There's no
point shouting
from the
rooftops over a
result like this
if we can't do
it against other
teams. There
were
similarities
with the Celtic
game. We were
3-0 up before
they had a shot.
People forget
that. They
didn't walk all
over us to get
back into it, it
was a free-kick.
We nullified
certain areas in
how both Celtic
and Rangers
played. You're
always going to
get done by
exceptional
quality. I
always had it in
the back of my
head Nikica
Jelavic was
going to do
something. Sone
Aluko was tidy
as well. I
worried they had
the tricks to
hurt us. If we
could get to
them early and
restrict their
space then I
knew we had a
chance. Despite
9,506 turning up
for this one,
the majority of
punters took up
the away ends.
People in
Motherwell
should support
Motherwell.
People in
Paisley should
support St
Mirren, People
in Kilmarnock
should support
Kilmarnock.
Football is our
national sport
and we can't
overlook that.
I'm really
pleased for the
people of the
town who have
stuck by
Kilmarnock. I
can't come to
terms with
people who live
here and
support
the Old Firm.
I'm still trying
to get my head
round that. But
this win makes
it more
satisfactory for
the supporters
who've waited 17
years for the
result."
Ally McCoist's
Post Match
Comments..."This
defeat's a sore
one
to take
because I didn't
see it coming.
Kilmarnock
worked very hard
for their win
and we didn't do
nearly
enough in
return. I didn't
see us losing
here".
Cammy Bell's
Post Match
Comments..."We
had
to dig
deep and all the
boys were
brilliant. We
kept them
relatively quiet
all game. Momo
was outstanding
and that was
one of
the best games I
have seen him
play. Pasca was
brilliant,
too. They
were two rocks
in the centre of
our defence.
They had a
massive contribution
to the
game, but it is
a team game and
everyone
played their
part. It does
make my life
easier. The
defence were
outstanding and
they kept things
solid. Everyone
is obviously
buzzing, but
it's
only
one
result and we
need
to keep
it going. It was
always going
to be a
hard game and
to get
the three points
was magic. The
manager will
make sure the
feet stay
on the
ground, but you
take a lot of confidence
from that. It
had been 17
years since we
had beaten
Rangers at
Rugby
Park.
Hopefully we can
build
on this
and put a wee
run
together
and push
ourselves back
up the table.
Garry Hay's Post
Match
Comments...""I've
been involved in
a few defeats by
Rangers at Rugby
Park but I was
surprised it was
so long since
we'd
beaten them
there, as
we'd won
at Ibrox a few
times. You'd
have thought
we'd have
done it at home
but it was nice
to get
the monkey off
our backs. It's
great when
we take
three points off
Rangers or
Celtic because
it's for the
supporters.
They'll work
with Rangers
fans so it will
be good for them
to go into
their
work on the
Monday
and have
a bit of banter.
It's great for
us
to win a
game
we weren't
expected
to but
it's a reward
for the fans. I
was at the game
17 years ago
when
we won, I
remember Black
scoring a
free-kick. I was
only 16
and was
on S-forms with
the club. I was
just there with
my mates. But it
was great
to be
playing this
time".
Manuel Pascali's
Post Match
Comments...""It's
a day to
remember for
myself and for
all Kilmarnock
supporters, I
was lucky to be
in the right
spot at the
right moment. I
thought I was 10
metres offside,
so I put the
ball in the net
to just do
something, maybe
something funny.
Then I turned
round and saw
one of their
players running
from the post.
I've been here
for four years
and we have
never beaten
Rangers, so I
knew that was
coming, Everyone
was up for this
match,
especially after
the horrible
performance
against
Inverness.
Sissoko, for me,
he is one of the
best defenders
in the country.
Sometimes he's a
little
bit
crazy and
sometimes he's
too relaxed. He
can give you a
heart attack
but today
he was
brilliant, along
with
the rest of the
team."
