By Alistair Aird
The games are coming thick and fast for Rangers at the moment. Hot on the heels of the impressive 4-0 win over FCSB on Thursday evening came today’s visit of St Mirren, and that would be followed by a tough trip to Pittodrie midweek and then the League Cup semi-final against Motherwell at Hampden. And that glut of games would no doubt be in the manager’s thinking when he made his team selection before The Saints came marching in.
As expected, Tom Lawrence, injured against FCSB, missed out, with his place going to Mo Diomande. John Souttar was rested which meant a return for Robin Propper, while the benching of Cyriel Dessers, who apologised to the manager after he walked off the pitch on Thursday, was widely predicted by most.
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But few would have forecast that James Tavernier wouldn’t start the match. The last time he hadn’t started a league match was at Tynecastle four days before the Europa League Final in Seville, and since Rangers returned to the top flight in 2016, Tavernier has played in 287 of the 312 league games contested. That’s a staggering 92% and works out at 25,412 minutes played out of a possible 28,080. He has had his critics and hasn’t looked his usual attacking self this season, but when you digest those stats, a rest was long overdue.
With Tavernier out, the captain’s armband went to the new vice-captain, Jack Butland, and Neraysho Kasanwirjo took over at right back. The Dutchman has impressed in the six appearances he had made thus far, but this was only his second start, the other coming at left back in the 2-0 win over Malmo a month ago.
Hamza Igamane was in the thick of the action after only a couple of minutes, picking up a yellow card on the far side touchline. And what followed was a ragged start by Rangers. Ball retention was poor – 69% pass completion overall, and only 50% of the passes executed in the final third were completed – and after nine minutes, the home side should have been behind. Toyosi Olusanya bore down on Butland’s goal from the inside right position but tugged his right foot shot wide of the far post. He should have hit the target and was duly punished for his profligacy when Rangers broke the deadlock five minutes later.
Nedim Bajrami picked the ball up on the left and teed up Nico Raskin who hit a blockbuster from range that was parried by Ellery Balcombe. Hovering in the six-yard box was Diomande and despite looking to be suspiciously offside, the Rangers number 10 knocked the loose ball into the net. Given the way that Rangers had started the game, the goal was welcome as it settled the nerves that were starting to creep in on and off the park.
The goal was followed by the unfurling of a banner by the Union Bears that proclaimed, ‘Your ineptitude is destroying our club, time for the fans to force change’. The natives are understandably restless and continue to despair at the shambolic way they feel their club is being run. It will be interesting in the weeks ahead to see just exactly how this will all play out as you feel that the relationship between the supporters and the Rangers hierarchy is now fractured beyond repair. The time for ‘Elastoplast’ solutions and papering over the cracks has come and gone a long time ago.
On the pitch, the opening goal had done little to lift Rangers from their lethargy and after 25 minutes, the Saints were level. And as has too often been the case, dreadful defending at a corner kick once again proved to the Achillies heel. Mark O’Hara delivered into the heart of the six-yard box and Alex Gogic turned the ball into the net. The goal hero, Diomande, looked to be the one that the finger of blame should be pointed at as he hadn’t tracked the run of Gogic, but Butland should have made a better fist of trying to claim the ball. There were question marks over Robin Propper too. He had had an uncomfortable opening to the match, and if he is to be the replacement for Connor Goldson, then a considerable amount of improvement is required.
St Mirren were the better side at this point. Although Rangers had enjoyed the lion’s share of possession – 74% – and both teams had registered four shots, the visitors had had 12 touches in the penalty area compared to just three from the home side. Had St Mirren’s play in the final third been a little sharper – they only had 33% pass accuracy in that area of the pitch – the Paisley side would have been ahead.
As half time approached, the groans and grumbles were audible. Fatigue from Thursday may have been a factor, but as poor as some of the performances have been this season, I don’t think many expected Rangers to be quite as sluggish and lacklustre as they had been in the opening 45 minutes. Against better quality opposition, this game would have been done and dusted. A couple of late corners presented Rangers with some chances to net what would have been an undeserved goal, but delivery in each case was questionable.
There was a ripple of booing when the half time whistle sounded. There must have been myriad questions being asked in the stands as the supporters were once more perplexed at how insipid and sub-standard the performance had been. But was it really any surprise? This team had been staggering around in what seemed like a drunken, incoherent daze for weeks, and they didn’t look to be sobering up any time soon.
It was time to call for reinforcements in the shape of the much-maligned Dessers. He replaced Igamane and if there was ever a match to try and endear himself to the supporters again, this was it. But seeking salvation from a player who most don’t deem good enough to fill the centre forward role once again summed up to the situation at Ibrox just now.
And it looked to be getting worse before it had any chance to get better. Five minutes after the restart, Olusanya slotted the ball beyond Butland. His celebration was, however, cut short when the assistant referee raised his flag. The decision was confirmed by VAR, but at this stage, there seemed to be an air of inevitability that the next goal in this game would go to those clad in black and white striped jerseys.
Clement, standing at the edge of his technical area, tried to clap his hands and holler encouragement and it almost paid off when the St Mirren goalkeeper Balcombe made a couple of saves. But Butland was called into action too, making a fine stop to deny Olusanya.
Once again, Robin Propper was caught out, proving to be more defensive dunce than anywhere close to being the top-class stopper that the supporters were led to believe Rangers were signing. He looks ponderous and lacks physicality, a major concern for a defender plying his trade in the Scottish Premiership. His match ended shortly afterwards when he was replaced by Tavernier. The alteration saw Kasanwirjo join Balogun at the heart of the defence, with the captain slotting into his usual position on the right-hand side.
Rangers needed some inspiration and a bit of perspiration at this stage, and they got it from Dessers after 68 minutes. Picking up a pass from Diomande, he bustled his way into the box, hit the bye-line and pulled the ball back to Vaclav Cerny who made it three goals in two games with a smart finish. As smurry rain cascaded from the skies, the collective sigh of relief on the pitch and in the stands was audible.
The goal seemed to shake off the shackles and for the first time in the match, there was some enterprising attacking play from Rangers. With 15 minutes to go, Cerny curled a delightful crossfield pass to Bajrami, and the Albanian was unfortunate to see his shot blocked after he had wriggled into a shooting position.
Cerny should have secured all three points after 81 minutes when he was played in by Bajrami, but he was denied by a sprawling save from Balcombe. At the other end, it took a lunging clearance from Balogun to thwart another promising St Mirren attack. This game wasn’t finished quite yet.
With a couple of minutes left, Cerny was replaced by Ross McCausland, and the little Northern Irishman almost fashioned an opening with this first involvement, making inroads towards the penalty area before overrunning the ball. He then showed great hunger to hunt down a St Mirren defender and turn over possession.
There would be six minutes of additional time. By this stage, most still in attendance with Rangers sympathies wanted the final whistle to sound. There was still a sense of vulnerability at the back every time St Mirren came forward and the last thing anyone needed at this stage was to cop a sucker punch.
Dessers had a shot deflected wide and another blocked, although for the latter he was flagged offside. He then tried to round the keeper and went crashing to the ground. A VAR check followed but no penalty was given and the final whistle was blown.
On an afternoon when it was very much about grinding out the result and winning ugly, there weren’t many in blue that excelled. Nico Raskin was named man-of-the-match, but that was perhaps harsh on Kasanwirjo. He was solid at full-back and showed Propper a thing or two about defending when he stepped inside for the last half hour. He may well be the 2024/25 Dujon Sterling, and his versatility, assurance and solid defensive play will be vital in the weeks ahead.
Rangers will now plod on to Pittodrie to face an Aberdeen side that are flying after making an impressive start to the season. A repeat of today’s performance by Clement’s side on Wednesday will only meet with one outcome and it’s not one that anyone associated with Rangers wants. And at this moment in time, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that you wouldn’t want to be wagering too much on an away win.
