Michael Stewart was blown away by Rangers’ 4-2 win over Kilmarnock on Wednesday.
Barry Ferguson, taking charge of Rangers for the first time after replacing the sacked Philippe Clement, saw his side go 2-0 down inside 14 minutes at Rugby Park, with the Clement hangover clearly continuing.
However, Vaclav Cerny’s reply 10 minutes before half-time led to a three-goal fightback in the second period, with Cyriel Dessers at the double and Nedim Bajrami rounding off the comeback late on.
Having shown Clement the door following a 2-0 loss to St Mirren on Saturday, Ferguson will take plenty of stock from his side showing the character they did to return serve and come away with three points.
Michael Stewart raves at ‘sensational’ Kilmarnock v Rangers goal
Rangers being undone from a corner by Joe Wright in the 11th minute was the worst of the Clement era coming back to bite; Robin Propper losing his man after being run ragged at Rugby Park in October.
Killie’s second goal came three minutes later as Brad Lyons curled home after cutting out Clinton Nsiala’s header, and on BBC Sportscene (26 February), Michael Stewart couldn’t excuse the Rangers defender.
Stewart said: “He has to just wipe Brad Lyons out – as soon as this ball gets played and it’s short, he can’t let Brad Lyons go through on goal.
“This bit, not bad, but here – you’ve got to be checking Brad Lyons there, you can’t let him step through. Take nothing away from him though, it’s an absolutely sensational finish.”
Rangers rocked by early Kilmarnock flourish at Rugby Park
Although there’s no denying that Lyons’ finish was a thing of beauty, but Ferguson’s analysis will surely pinpoint that Nsiala should never have given him the chance to take the shot on goal.
Meeting a long ball forward by the hosts, Nsiala attempted to cushion it forward to Nico Raskin, but didn’t get anywhere near enough purchase on his header and it was easily collected by Lyons.
KilmarnockStatisticRangers2Goals41.34xG1.9639 per centPossession61 per cent11Shots144Shots on Target7Rangers and Kilmarnock played out a six-goal thriller at Rugby Park (Credit: FotMob)
That 20-yard curler left Rangers on the ropes in Ayrshire, but it’s testament to the spirit Ferguson and his team of Ibrox legends have already managed to instill that they came back to win the game.
Under Clement, the Gers had won just six points from losing positions this season – including three draws – and only once managed to win a game from 2-0 down, against Dundee at Ibrox last May.
That’s exactly what’s happened just three days into Ferguson’s tenure in the Rangers dugout, but he’ll be hoping to avoid the need for such comebacks between now and the rest of the season.
Stewart blown away by ‘sensational’ Sportscene footage in Kilmarnock v Rangers
