Bojan Miovski struck twice as Rangers moved closer to the Scottish Premiership’s top two with a 3-0 win at Kilmarnock.
Rangers opened the scoring in the 33rd minute when Miovski drove a low shot into the net after collecting the ball on the edge of the area. He doubled the lead in the 54th minute, poking a composed finish past goalkeeper Tobi Oluwayemi after Nicolas Raskin released him into space. Substitute Mikey Moore, on loan from Tottenham, came off the bench to curl home a third in the 81st minute and later had a goal ruled out after a pitchside review.
The result left Rangers back in fourth place and within six points of leaders Hearts and Celtic, who face each other on Sunday.
Kilmarnock enjoyed several openings but could not find the net. Early on, Connor Barron swung a free-kick into the box and Miovski’s header was saved by Oluwayemi. At the other end Marcus Dackers hit the crossbar from Scott Tiffoney’s delivery and Djeidi Gassama shot over from close range. Bruce Anderson later beat Jack Butland to the ball and dinked it over the goalkeeper, only for Barron to clear off the line amid an offside flag.
Rangers made an early forced change when Nedim Bajrami went off injured and 19-year-old Findlay Curtis came on. The match then tilted toward the visitors as they pressed Killie deep and Miovski opened the scoring.
Early in the second half a VAR check was held for a potential Kilmarnock penalty when David Watson was challenged by Mohamed Diomande on the edge of the box, but referee Kevin Clancy was not called to the monitor. Moments later Miovski put the game beyond doubt with his second.
Kilmarnock continued to probe — Butland produced a fine save from a deflected Anderson effort and then kept out a header from captain Robbie Deas — and Watson glanced a header wide shortly before manager Stuart Kettlewell was sent off in the 72nd minute.
Moore, one of several changes for Rangers, drove at the Kilmarnock defence before curling a neat finish into the corner for the third. He appeared to have another goal when he lobbed the keeper, but Clancy went to the monitor and ruled it out for an infringement by Emmanuel Fernandez on Watson in the lead-up.
The atmosphere before kick-off saw travelling Rangers supporters fill around half the ground and set off flares, and the match itself offered end-to-end action before the visitors eventually took control and left with a clean sheet and a useful three points.