David Melvin reporting from Rugby Park

Rangers made it eight straight wins in the SPL to restore their four point lead at the top of the table.

A header from Carlos Cuellar and a penalty from Kris Boyd secured and eighth consecutive win for Walter Smith's side.

Having seen his side fail to score in midweek, Smith reintroduced Jean Claude Darcheville and Boyd to his starting lineup, with Chris Burke also making the step up from the bench.

And Darcheville almost made an instant impact when he burst between Killie's centre-back pairing, but he lofted the ball over Alan Combe and the bar from 12 yards out.

Craig Bryson threatened to open the scoring at the other end, when he brought the ball down neatly and carried it past a couple of Rangers challenges.

But his right foot shot slipped narrowly past Allan McGregor's left hand post with ten minutes on the clock.

Danny Invincibile was clearly encouraged by this burst of attacking play and when he found himself in space two minutes later, he also tried his luck from distance.

This time McGregor could watch comfortably as the ball sailed high and wide of his goal.

Killie were certainly playing more confidently than in recent weeks, but when Gary Locke tried a cross field ball in the 17th minute, it was cut out by Sasa Papac.

The Gers left back found Boyd in the left channel, and the former Killie man drove into the box, forcing a corner when his shot from 16 yards was well cleared.

And good work from Papac again forced a corner in the 23rd minute, when his dangerous looking cross from deep on the left was turned behind.

Chris Burke took the set piece and a wicked cross just evaded the head of Boyd and Darcheville's outstretched right boot at the back post and trickled out for another corner.

This time Burke played it short to Broadfoot, and his wicked cross was forced on to Carlos Cuellar via the head of Ferguson.

The tall Spanish centre back headed back across goal and beyond the reach of Alan Combe to open the scoring after 24 minutes and notch his fifth goal of the season.

With the goal came a visible relaxation amongst the visiting players, and when Darcheville robbed Simon Ford on the half way line after half an hour it seemed a second goal was on its way.

The powerful striker fed Boyd with a neat pass and when Combe got mixed up with his defence, Boyd was just too far beyond the keeper to make contact.

But with just a one goal cushion, there was no relaxing for Walter Smith's side, and good work on the right from Killie's Mehdi Taouil saw him work his way past Ferguson and cross dangerously.

McGregor was again on hand to pluck the ball of the head of Killie's advancing forwards.

It was just the wake up call Gers needed, and with yet another corner from the right, Burke delivered a perfect cross to McCulloch, but the big midfielder could only head over from ten yards out.

It was nothing compared to the miss that followed in the 41st minute when Boyd cleverly dummied Cuellar's long ball and Darcheville found himself once again free in the Killie box.

But again the returning hitman couldn't find the target, dragging his right foot shot across the goal and wide of Combe's far post.

Killie began the second half the livelier team, whipping a dangerous looking righrt wing cross across the face of goal.

But when Burke made the first break for Gers in the 49th minute, he was cynically tripped by Gary Locke, with Mike McCurry showing the first yellow card of the match.

Hemdani took the free kick and his floated delivery found the head of Boyd, but he couldn't trouble Combe from eight yards.

He came closer two minutes later when he fired in a low 22 yard effort after Ferguson touched a free kick to the number nine.

A deflection on the way through saw Rangers awarded a corner, but Burke wasted the opportunity with a poor set piece from the left.

Killie were almost level on the hour when Alan Johnston's drive was cleared off the line by Papac as the home side looked to get back into the game.

But just two minutes later, that looked beyond them when Jamie Hamill was penalised for handball in the box.

Boyd had nodded down McCulloch's cross from the left, and McCurry had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and booking Hamill.

And Boyd made no mistake from 12 yards, drilling the ball down the middle to put Gers two up after 62 minutes.

With Killie heading for an eighth SPL game without a win, and Rangers looking for their eighth league win in a row, it looked like the result was settled.

But with Killie battling for every ball, Smith introduced some new faces with fifteen minutes remaining remaining.

There was another Killie old boy on with Steven Naismith replacing Darcheville and Chris Burke making way for Nacho Novo.

And Novo almost set up a third for Rangers when his corner found McCulloch at the near post and Combe did well to turn his effort behind for another corner.

The same pairing almost added a third in the dying minutes when Novo found McCulloch on the edge of the box, but the big man's drive from 18 yards was well held by Combe.

Rangers: McGregor; Broadfoot, Cuellar, Weir, Papac; Burke, Ferguson, Hemdani, McCulloch; Boyd, Darcheville.
Subs: Alexander, Dailly, Davis, Novo, Naismith, Furman, Fleck.

Kilmarnock: Combe, Fowler, Hay, Wright, Ford, Locke, Invincibile, Johnston, Hamill, Bryson, Taouil.
Subs: Harpur, Gibson, Di Giacomo, Fernandez, O'Leary, Clancy, Corrigan.