Rangers’ hopes of winning the Scottish Premiership title have been given new life after Matty Kennedy’s winner for Kilmarnock against Celtic.
Rangers did their business on Saturday afternoon, coming from a goal down to beat Dundee 3-1 at Ibrox.
The Gers then sat back and watched Celtic on Sunday as they faced a tricky trip to Rugby Park to take on Kilmarnock.
Killie have already beaten both Rangers and Celtic at home this season, so a trip to Ayrshire is always a potential banana skin.
Celtic took the lead but struggled after the break with Nat Phillips scoring an own goal to bring Killie level.
That didn’t spark Celtic back into life and Killie found a winner with winger Matty Kennedy slotting home for a 2-1 victory.
Matty Kennedy’s Rangers connection explained
Rangers are now five points behind Celtic with a game in hand, so Sunday’s result has really given new life to the title race.
The Gers cannot afford any slip-ups between now and the winter break and fans may be thanking Kennedy for his goal.
Kennedy does have a connection to Rangers as well, which makes Sunday’s goal even sweeter.
As quoted by Wales Online way back in 2015, Kennedy stated that he used to go and watch Rangers as a kid.
It was noted that, whilst Kennedy was born in Ayrshire, his father was a big Rangers fan and the pair went to Ibrox for matches.
Kennedy used to watch Kris Boyd in a Rangers shirt and then found himself playing alongside the former Gers striker at Kilmarnock.
“My dad used to take me to watch Rangers when I was younger,” said Kennedy. “When he was at Kilmarnock with us I found myself playing on the same side as him. I’d seen him playing so many times then suddenly I was shouting at him to pass me the ball. I wasn’t starstruck, I don’t really get like that. A few boys were, but he was just a normal guy.”
Kennedy also drew attention to Steven Naismith, another man who had ties to both Rangers and Kilmarnock in his playing days.
It’s unclear whether the Northern Ireland international still follows Rangers or whether it was simply a thing with his father from being a kid.
Rangers supporters will certainly appreciate Sunday’s goal though, and it’s now time for Philippe Clement’s men to take full advantage.
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