Raith Rovers manager John McGlynn has lauded Rangers loanee, Kai Kennedy, after his stunning goal in a 3-1 win over Dundee on Saturday afternoon [RaithTV YouTube].
After a lengthy saga, Kennedy recently signed a contract extension with Rangers, tieing him to the club until the summer of 2023 [Rangers.co.uk].
The news was well-received by supporters, who have been impressed by what they’ve seen of the 18-year-old winger both at Ibrox and during his loan stint at Inverness Caley Thistle over the first half of the season.
After signing his extension, Kennedy went back out on loan to the Championship, this time with Raith Rovers, and he’s made a superb start to life at Stark’s Park.
He won the Man of the Match award on debut last weekend as Raith shocked Hearts at Tynecastle, and he shone again at home to Dundee on Saturday.
The visitors struck first through Osman Sow but Kennedy assisted Raith’s 22nd-minute equaliser, picking out Kyle Benedictus with a chipped cross following a short corner.
The home side went ahead in the 54th-minute courtesy of a long-range strike from Reghan Tumilty before the Gers loanee made the points safe on the hour mark in similarly spectacular fashion.
Kennedy was picked out on the left flank by a diagonal and he controlled well before driving at his full-back, cutting inside and curling an unstoppable effort into the far corner.
It was a superb goal and he earned big praise from his manager after the game.
“Kai’s goal…somebody like him, he is a bit of a special player,” said McGlynn [RaithTV YouTube]. “You can see when he came in and he just bent it away into the far corner. It was just a sign of a right top-class football player.”
It’s the kind of performance and praise that will raise excitement levels even further amongst the Rangers support.
Fans are calling for more homegrown players to be given opportunities in the first team at Ibrox and many will be hoping that if Kennedy continues to produce at Raith between now and the end of the season, he’ll be very much a part of Steven Gerrard’s plans for 2021/22.
Gerrard himself has made passionate comments about his desire to bring silverware back to Rangers as a Premiership title beckons.
