Oliver Antman may have just rescued his Rangers career with what he did vs Kilmarnock
Rangers cut the gap to Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership to three points on Wednesday night.
Rangers demolished Kilmarnock 5-1 at Ibrox, with the visitors being reduced to 10 in the opening few minutes after Dominic Thompson was shown a straight red for fouling Djeidi Gassama in the penalty area.
Danny Rohl‘s side took longer than what they would’ve liked to make their numerical advantage count though, as the two sides were only separated by a goal at half-time.
However, Rangers put that right in the second 45, with four goals ending up in the Kilmarnock net, as Gers not only cut into Hearts’ points lead, but also their goal difference.
And, it was a night that will also live long in the memory for a multitude of reasons, as Rangers’ win was accompanied by a number of firsts for those wearing royal blue.
Oliver Antman puts in watershed Rangers cameo
Andreas Skov Olsen came off the bench to score his first Rangers goal since moving to Glasgow in the winter window, whilst Ryan Naderi was also introduced for the last 30 minutes for his Gers debut.
Meanwhile, Tuur Rommens also took his first steps as a Rangers player, with the left-back grabbing an assist to boot to.
That assist was for Oliver Antman‘s goal in the 89th minute, in what could be the night that is looked back on down the line as the evening where the Finnish international saved his Rangers career.
Despite only signing for the Gers in this season’s summer window, the 24-year-old winger has struggled to hit the ground running with his new side, having failed to score in any of his first 21 appearances this season.
However, that all changed on Wednesday, as the former Go Ahead Eagles star went ahead and bagged his first Rangers goal, as well as providing the assist for the fifth and final goal of the night.
Prior to his Kilmarnock exploits, there was even talk of Antman being allowed to leave Rangers in the final hours of the winter window, due to his slow start to life in Glasgow.
Any talk of a transfer away from Ibrox should be put on hold after his Killie showing, but that doesn’t mean he’s now going to walk into a larger role under Rohl.
Skov Olsen’s signing could bring best out of Antman
It didn’t take long for Skov Olsen to win his place in the hearts of the Ibrox faithful, and he does look every bit of a top draw signing for Rangers.
However, seeing the arrival of a classy player like the Danish international could prove to be the catalyst for improvement out of Antman too, as he knows his place altogether in the team is now under major threat.
Antman looked like a player with a point to prove on Wednesday night, and that point could be that he’s just as good, if not a better option to turn to than Skov Olsen.
Whether that will be the case or not, time will tell, but if Antman takes Skov Olsen’s signing as healthy competition rather than his replacement being installed, then he could yet have a big part to play in royal blue.