Marley Watkins scored the only goal on 87 minutesSNS

Marley Watkins scored the only goal on 87 minutes

Colin Moffat
BBC Sport Scotland

Marley Watkins struck late at Rugby Park to earn Kilmarnock a deserved Scottish Premiership victory over low-key Rangers.

The forward was too strong for John Souttar as they challenged for a dropping ball in the penalty area and his shot took a slight deflection off the defender on the way past Jack Butland.

The 87th-minute strike earned Kilmarnock their first home win of the season and moves them up to seventh place.

Rangers had hoped to profit from top two Celtic and Aberdeen sharing the spoils on Saturday but lacked intensity and now find themselves six points off the pace.

Right from the off, the visitors appeared unsettled by the gusting winds from Storm Ashley and an aggressive press from Kilmarnock.

Long balls to Kyle Vassell were proving fruitful for the hosts, who really should have taken an early lead.

Butland made great recovery save at the feet of Watkins, while Matty Kennedy failed to get a touch in front of goal as Corrie Ndaba delivered a fabulous cross.

Butland was beaten by a Robbie Deas header but the Kilmarnock defender had strayed offside from a free-kick and the first half ended not long after a shot from Vassell zipped over the top.

All Rangers could muster before the interval was a Vaclav Cerny shot that was beaten away by Robby McCrorie.

The former Ibrox goalkeeper was busier in the second half, tipping away an effort from Dessers, before the striker hit the crossbar from the resulting corner and Robin Propper knocked the rebound too high from close range.

McCrorie then saved well from Souttar after misjudging a cross, but Rangers could not build any sustained pressure.

Kilmarnock continued to offer a threat on the break and from set-pieces.

Kennedy miscued a couple of chances and Deas was guilty of a fresh-air swipe, but they were rewarded for their determination and endeavour when Watkins made the breakthrough.

Kilmarnock back to what they do best

Home form has been a traditional strength for Kilmarnock, but they had five draws and one defeat in all competitions on their own plastic patch coming into this game.

A first league win of the season came in their last outing - an unlikely comeback from 2-0 down at Dens Park - and they looked more like their old selves, getting in the faces of Rangers and getting the ball forward quickly.

Vassell gave Souttar and Propper a torrid time in the first half, with muscular support from Watkins.

Kennedy and Danny Armstrong provided good width and energy in attack and defence, tracking back to form a back six, as the full-backs pushed inside to support the centre-halves.

Derek McInnes kept telling us we would see the "real Kilmarnock" after a couple of sluggish displays on the back of European outings and it looks like he was right, with nine points garnered from five unbeaten league outings.

Rangers' attitude 'miles off'

Rangers were found wanting in all departments, but what will concern manager Philippe Clement the most was the demeanour of his players.

The "attitude was miles off," observed former Ibrox striker Billy Dodds on punditry duty.

The visitors certainly did not look like a team hungry to force themselves into a title race, struggling to match Kilmarnock's appetite for the fight.

Defenders were passive, allowing too many long balls to drop on the artificial surface.

The midfield offered next to nothing, with central duo Mohamed Diomande and Connor Barron turning back too often.

Rangers have only scored 12 goals in their eight Premiership matches - half Celtic's tally - and striker Dessers was starved of service for long spells.

What they said

'We never settled for 0-0' - McInnes

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: "It was good to get back to being resolute and organised. Our press was terrific throughout.

"We had good strength through the middle. I thought we were the better team in the first half and we reminded the players of that, but we still needed that moment.

"At no time did we settle for 0-0, we thought there was a result there for us. Marley's timing was terrific and he takes his big moment in the game."

Rangers manager Philippe Clement: "It was not good enough. We need to adapt and play on any surface. It's a different kind of football [on Kilmarnock's pitch] but everybody comes here at some point of the season and we did well here before.

"Intensity is an easy word to say but you need to find space to play and Kilmarnock did that really well. We could have done better in our duels, for sure.

"We've played eight games, so there are 30 more to go in the league. It's about learning the lessons from these games, like we have done before."

'It was not good enough' - Clement

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