It was the perfect tonic for Jo Potter’s side after enduring the rare feeling of back-to-back defeats on league duty, propelled by a third hat-trick against Motherwell this season for the outstanding Wilkinson and a return among the goals for Mia McAulay.
Indeed, eight goals were plundered against the Lanarkshire outfit in the reverse post-split fixture back in March and, although the visitors were able to put a lid on the scoreline this time around, it was a result which was never truly in doubt after the English forward’s first-half opener.
In restoring the winning feeling, the Gers will now look ahead to the final stretch of league fixtures this campaign, starting with a trip to face Celtic in seven days’ time before they lock horns with Hearts and Hibernian.
From the midweek fixture at Ibrox, Potter made five changes with Laura Rafferty, Kirsty Howat, Mia McAulay, Lizzie Arnot and Laura Berry all given the nod from the off.
And it was the returning McAulay whose early endeavour on the right-hand side struck fear into the Motherwell rearguard, weaving her through a pack of claret and amber bodies before pulling the ball back for Kirsty Maclean in acres of space on the edge of the penalty area who ought to have done better to keep her effort under the crossbar.
The initial joy from the Light Blues arrived from the flanks as, just moments later, Kirsty Howat drifted to the left and lifted a delivery into Wilkinson who swivelled under pressure and scooped her subsequent shot wide of the target.
Rangers were beginning to put the squeeze on the away side and a beautifully constructed move from the hosts freed Chelsea Cornet in space inside the penalty area, but the midfielder’s pull-back was steered into the grateful arms of Rebecca Cameron by Wilkinson from close range.
However, the Motherwell goalkeeper was picking the ball out of the net just minutes later. Howat had her head in her hands when her strike looked destined for the top corner before a brave intervention, yet the home side kept the move alive and when Berry returned the favour at the far post it was Wilkinson who was on hand, as she has often been this campaign, to divert home from point-blank range.
The goalscorer was denied less than 60 seconds later when she looked to lift her finish over Cameron as the visitors searched for a reprieve against the relentless waves of attacks engineered by the Gers.
Sightings of Wilkinson and Berry as a strike partnership have been fleeting this term given the latter’s loan involvement with this afternoon’s visitors in the first half of this season, but the two were certainly on the same wavelength prior to the interval when Wilkinson received a direct pass with her back to goal and teed up the teenager who was off balance when firing her volley over the bar.
Potter was forced to reshuffle her backline on the stroke of half-time when Kathy Hill was unable to continue and replaced by Tessel Middag.
And, just five minutes after the restart, the Dutch defender produced a moment to engineer the Gers’ second of the evening.
Indeed, there would have been several in the crowd squinting their eyes at the sight of the defender striding forward on the right-hand side, delivering a delicious cross into the penalty area which evaded Cameron in the Motherwell goal and fell invitingly for McAulay to tap home from close range.
Berry was next to go close for the hosts when she was targeted by a sumptuous delivery from Lizzie Arnot, but she was unable to make a clean connection with her header and the ball was glanced agonisingly wide.
It mattered little, though, as the third goal of the contest arrived from the penalty spot after Wilkinson latched onto a floated pass over the top of the Motherwell defence and was felled by the outstretched Cameron rushing out from her six-yard area.
There was no doubt that the reliable Wilkinson would assume spot-kick duties; dispatching with conviction into the bottom corner to swell her already burgeoning goalscoring tally this campaign.
Ten minutes remained on the clock when Wilkinson once again found the back of the net, sealing her hat-trick when Cameron could only parry McAulay’s effort and she slammed high into the roof of the net.
There was still time for the forward to add twice more to her tally before the sound of the referee’s full-time whistle, nodding home at the far post for her fourth before turning the ball goalwards from an opportune position to cap off the scoring for the home side.
RANGERS: Fife, Docherty, Hill (Middag, 45), Rafferty, Howat (Ross, 75), McAulay, Arnot (Hay, 62), Berry (Hardy, 62), Cornet (McLeary, 75), Maclean, Wilkinson
Subs not used: Esson, Lafaix, Cruft
MOTHERWELL: Cameron, Penman, Watson, Ronald (Gibb, 72), Collins, Rice (Leishman, 58), Todd, Clark, Boyes, Greenwood (Sharkey, 63), Barclay (McGoldrick, 63)
Subs not used: Mutch, Donald, Addie
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