Edinburgh - Arabstoday
Rangers extended their lead atop the Scottish Premier League to seven points on Tuesday evening with a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock at Ibrox.The SPL Champions claimed the victory thanks to strikes from Nikica Jelavic and Gregg Wylde as the hosts took control of the match in the second half and proceeded to dominate after half-time.Cammy Bell in the Kilmarnock net was much the busier goalkeeper throughout and was forced into a smart block from Sasa Papac early on after being released by Jelavic and then tipped over a header from the Croatian striker to keep the scores level until the break.Just after the teams came back out for the second half, Bell was forced into another good stop, this time from Kyle Lafferty as the Northern Ireland international volleyed from close-range.Jelavic grabbed the opener 20 minutes into the second half as he cleverly and quietly peeled away from the visitors’ defence at a Steven Davis free-kick and found the net from around the penalty spot.Rangers doubled their lead two minutes later with a brilliant counter-attack as Maurice Edu charged into Killie’s half before squaring to Wylde, who in turned looked for Edu again and the American international returned the favour once again as he reached the penalty area, allowing Wylde to tap into an empty net.Kilmarnock did have their chances in the closing stages as first Liam Kelly saw his long-range effort go agonisingly close, much to the relief of Allan McGregor in the Rangers net, whilst Lee Wallace produced a great last-ditch challenge on Paul Heffernan who was one-on-one with the Gers ‘keeper.However, the hosts managed to keep a hold of their two-goal lead and picked up another three points as their lead over Celtic stretched to seven points, although the Bhoys have now played a game less.