As Rangers striker Kemar Roofe marked his return to the starting XI with a goal against Ross County, there were mixed emotions amongst the travelling Ibrox fans.
The unorthodox volley showed the instinctual, goalscoring prowess the 30-year-old striker boasts and it eased any potential pressure on the match to open the scoring.
Rangers have made hard work of these Scottish Premiership matches in recent seasons, not least against Ross County, and the Kemar Roofe goal paved the way for a solid away day.
James Tavernier would go on to whip in a worldie and complete the scoring as two first half goals left the Staggies stunned and a potential early Saturday banana skin transformed into a (brisk) weekend stroll in Victoria Park.
But whilst Rangers fans were genuinely delighted to see Kemar Roofe score a goal on his first start in 16 months, the striker last kicking off in a Gers shirt in the Europa League Quarter Final against Braga, there was also a feeling of regret.
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Kemar Roofe restarts Rangers career with Ross County goal
Particularly last season, Rangers missed the potent striker play of their star poacher with the Ross County strike Kemar Roofe’s 37th Gers goal in 81 games.
Signed for a reported £4.5m (€5.5m) from Anderlecht in the summer of 2020, you’ll forgive some Rangers fans for believing that for such an outlay we should’ve had a greater return over three seasons.
But when you consider the scale of the injuries which have interrupted Kemar Roofe’s time at Rangers – the ex-Leeds United striker played six times last season – the return is put into perspective.
Consider that the striker also averages a goal for Rangers in just under every 115 minutes and fans not only get an insight into a potent weapon but a sore, sore miss over the last few years.
With Michael Beale’s side enjoying shoots of progress over the last few weeks, the addition of Kemar Roofe and his resultant goal against Ross County sent a reminder to everyone at Ibrox.
The Rangers boss is under no illusions – Michael Beale speaking glowingly about the forward at full-time – whilst the striker himself has one target in his mind.
Touching on the pain, the heartbreak and struggle of overcoming his latest injury, for Kemar Roofe the focus is on bringing the title back to Rangers and lifting 56.
Given that Kemar was Rangers’ top goalscorer in the Premiership the last time the league title was won (14), perhaps the return of the striker is the Championship link the club has been missing ever since.