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Football

23rd Jan 2019

It took Jermain Defoe a matter of minutes to score his first Rangers goal

Jermain Defoe scored his first Rangers goal this evening after just 12 minutes as he broke the deadlock against Kilmarnock

Reuben Pinder

Still banging them in at 36

Jermain Defoe has always been able to score goals. His knack of finding pockets of space inside the box, anticipating where the ball will drop and absolutely twatting the ball into the back of the net with minimal back-lift has allowed him to enjoy a long career in the Premier League and with the English national team.

Now 36, Defoe has moved north of the wall for a spell at Rangers – we can’t assume it’ll be his last club after Toronto – to reunite with Steven Gerrard, his former England teammate.

Defoe started up front alongside Alfredo Morelos in a 4-4-2 diamond shape, and broke the deadlock after just 12 minutes, putting the away side in front.

It was a goal that could only have been scored in Scotland, by Jermain Defoe. Several bad shots were blocked before the ball eventually fell to the Englishman, who made no mistake in poking it through a small gap to give Rangers the lead.

https://twitter.com/Rossco5088/status/1088164354514657287

Defoe absolutely loved it. As did his new boss, Gerrard.

Kilmarnock did go on to flip the scoreline, taking a 2-1 lead thanks to goals from Eamonn Brophy and Jordan Jones, but still – good scenes in the 12 minute.

Before tonight’s fixtures, Rangers and Celtic were level on points at the top of the Scottish Premiership with 42 points a piece. Celtic had the better goal difference though, an advantage they extended tonight, beating St. Mirren 4-0 at Parkhead and Rangers lost 2-1.