RANGERS crashed to just their second defeat in 18 games under Steven Gerrard yesterday as Livingston continued their remarkable start to the season.

The loss leaves the Ibrox club eight points behind early Ladbrokes Premiership winners Hearts, who they face at home on Sunday, in the table.

Their opponents, meanwhile, remain level on points with second-placed Hibernian and undefeated under Gary Holt after five matches.

SO WERE RANGERS BAD OR WERE LIVINGSTON GOOD?

A bit of both. This was certainly a poor display by the visitors. They have been lavished with praise in recent weeks for their performances both domestically and in Europe. But yesterday they looked powderpuff and clueless. They were beaten to every 50/50 ball by rivals who, put simply, wanted it far more.

Gerrard, to his credit, refused to gloss over the flaws in his side’s display. It was perhaps a case of a group of players getting complacent after some good showings at home and abroad. This may be a wake-up call. Certainly, they will know what to expect if they do perform like this in future. The pressure is now on those responsible.

“I said to the players before the game that we need to show how good we are and how serious we are,” said the manager. “All the teams around us and above us won so with that comes with a bit of pressure and we haven’t responded to that.

“In football, if you have a setback or a bump you have to react and I expect a reaction from the team. I expect a big reaction from certain individuals.”

But Rangers are unlikely to be the last notable scalp that Livingston claim in the 2018/19 campaign. With Craig Halkett, Alan Lithgow, Declan Gallagher and Ricki Lamie in their ranks they are no slouches when it comes to the physical aspect of the game.

But it is doing them a gross disservice to pigeonhole them as a bunch of hammer throwers. They certainly have a simple game plan that plays to their strengths and makes allowances for their limitations. But they make no excuses for that and, what is more, carry it out to perfection.

Livingston, though, can play a bit too. Scott Robinson showed great close control to set up Dolly Menga for what proved to be the winning goal. Scott Pittman and Lithgow came close to adding to their tally.

THERE’S ONLY ONE DOLLY MENGA!

There is indeed. The Angolan internationalist, who has played in Belgium, Italy, Portugal and England in his nomadic professional career, has to be one of the great names in the Scottish game. Ever.

But Dolly Domingos Menga is a real handful for opposition defences too. He led the line for Livingston well and gave Connor Goldson and Joe Worrall a torrid afternoon. He also showed an admirable willingness to drop deep and win possession.

The 25-year-old took his goal, the first he has scored since moving to this country in the summer, well. More will surely follow. He looks like being an excellent acquisition for the promoted club.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ASSISTANT REFEREE?

Linesman Calum Spence signalled to referee Craig Thomson that he had been struck by an object which had been thrown from the Rangers support after around an hour of the game had been played and his colleague immedaitely stopped the game so he could receive medical attention.

Spence was given moral support from players of both teams who attempted to make light of the incident. But it was appalling to see a match official injured while doing his duty. He was clearly bleeding as a result of being hit.

Rangers will study video footage in the coming days in an attempt to identify the culprit. Hopefully, they will be successful in their endeavours. It only takes one idiot to give his club a bad name. He or she deserves to be banned.

WHAT WAS THE FRACAS AFTER THE FINAL WHISTLE ABOUT?

Livingston player Ricki Lamie went to shake hands with Rangers winger Daniel Candeias and when his opponent refused it all kicked off. Alfredo Morelos, of course, got himself involved. Soon there was a full-blown shoving match in the middle of the park.

It continued as the players went up the tunnel with Andy Halliday, who hadn’t even played, and James Tavernier getting involved as Declan Gallagher milked the applause of the jubilant home supporters in the main stand.

Holt has seen it all before in his career. “You don’t have to shake hands,” he said. “It’s handbags. At the end of the day, we have won the game, they have lost and emotions and running high. I wasn’t the happiest when I lost. I wasn’t going to clap someone on the back and say: “Well done, now kick me in the teeth.”

“It’s one of those where you look back and wonder why you involved in the situation. I don’t make a big deal of it. We are all grown men and should be able to deal with things better.”

SHOULD RANGERS BE CONCERNED?

It is important to put this result in context. It is only the second time the Glasgow club have lost in a competitive fixture since Gerrard took over. But it did expose a softness to their play which will be alarming for the Liverpool and England great. It is all well and good playing attractive football. But sometimes, in Scottish football especially, you need to win the battles. They failed to do that.

They have now dropped points in four of their seven league matches. That is nowhere near good enough if they are to challenge for the Premiership title. They have also failed to win one of their four matches on the road. That, too, isn’t the form of champions. They must win ugly when the occasion demands it.