Chris Innes, picked up
4 quick fouls in the first 8 mins and a yellow card was
soon to follow after a Meldrum blunder allowed the Huns to go one up!
Innes only lasted till the 30 min mark, and after that "it was game
over" as
far as Killie were concerned.
Killie played today without regulars, Alan Mahood,
Peter Canero & Jamie Fowler.
Peter Lovenkrands opened the scoring on 14 minutes thanks to a
terrible blunder from Killie goalkeeper Colin Meldrum.
Fernando Ricksen sent in a high ball to the near post which should
have been collected comfortably, but Meldrum inexplicably dropped it and
Lovenkrands tapped in from one yard out!
Killie's heads did not fall however, and
maintained some good possession over the next 10 mins or so. It also
seemed like every time Danny Invincible touched the ball something good was
going to happen, that or he got "hoofed".
Innes looked to be treading on thin ice three minutes after his
caution as crashed clumsily into the back of Mols again but was let off
with a warning by referee John Rowbotham. Even at this early stage you
couldn't help thinking the off- the-pace stopper would not see the game
through.
On 35 minutes Killie had Chris Innes, booked for a
a second time & then sent off
for another rash challenge on the Dutch striker Mols.
Mols made Killie pay three minutes later when he fired home from
inside the six-yard box after Craig Moore headed on Mikel Arteta's
corner.
A third goal soon followed after Sean Hessey was booked for a penalty
box challenge on Barry Ferguson and Arteta made no mistake from the
spot.
Ferguson was first to test Meldrum after the interval, with a
powerful low drive that the keeper did well to hold, and moments later
Lovenkrands flashed a shot just wide.
With the game already won, the pace went out of Rangers' game,
although Mols came close three times in quick succession, the last an
incredible miss after substitute Paolo Vanoli had picked him out in the
middle.
But Arteta won back a few more Rangers fans with a fantastic low,
curling strike from 25 yards after 72 minutes that beat Meldrum and put
Rangers further in command.
Paul di Giacomo managed a shot on goal for Killie, but Stefan Klos
was well behind it and Meldrum had to look smart to stop Ferguson adding
to Rangers' tally with a clever free kick.
Mols had a final chance after he found space for himself in the
Killie box, but he fired across goal and wide.
Attendance: 49,108
Kilmarnock: Meldrum,
Shields
, Innes
,
Dindeleux, Fulton, Hay, Invincible, Locke, Hessey, Di
Giacomo, (Nish 78th) Boyd (McSwegan
78th).
