RANGERS were comfortable winners over St Johnstone as a James Tavernier penalty and Glen Kamara strike earned another Premiership triumph for boss Michael Beale.
It was a day when Rangers celebrated the contribution and sacrifice of our Armed Forces and opened the doors to New Edmiston House. On the park, it was a pleasing afternoon for supporters as Callum Davidson’s side – reduced to ten men after Nicky Clark saw red – never looked like causing an upset.
Rangers are now six points behind Celtic ahead of their fixture on Sunday and another clean sheet ensured there were positives for Beale to take at Ibrox.
THREE POINTS AND UP THE ROAD
This was all rather straightforward for Rangers. It was a case of a job done well and easily, another game ticked off as the unbeaten run was extended and the momentum was added to once again.
The penalty from Tavernier – as he beat Remi Matthews with a clinical strike to the keeper’s right – was the reward for a dominant start. The second goal from Kamara just after the break ensured there was no way back for St Johnstone as the three points were secured.
Back on the green grass of home, Rangers were more fluent than they have been in recent weeks but they could have been more clinical and won by a greater margin. The underfoot conditions certainly helped in that regard following the much talked about surfaces at Hampden, Rugby Park and McDiarmid Park and the time on the training ground was beneficial as well.
It wasn’t an occasion that will live long in the memory but it was a more complete performance than some that have been produced under Beale and has to be regarded as another small step in the right direction. The bar still has to be raised and Beale won’t be getting carried away right now.
The debut for Todd Cantwell and returns of Ianis Hagi and Antonio Colak were further positives to take for Beale and the coming days will now be spent trying to finalise moves in the transfer market to add further quality to this side and take the levels up once again.
VAR AND COLLUM IS QUITE THE COMBINATION
Let the conspiracy theories and accusations begin. Strap yourselves in for another week of Twitter spats and phone-in switchboards lighting up.
VAR will be back on the agenda this week. But it is referee Willie Collum that should be at the centre of the questions rather than the technology after another weird and wonderful afternoon from the whistler.
On 35 minutes, Clark and Ryan Jack collided in the middle of the park and the Rangers man hit the deck. Collum produced a red card and Clark protested his innocence as the VAR graphic appeared in the corners of Ibrox.
The decision stood. Collum didn’t go over and check with the screen, though, and Saints boss Callum Davidson was furious as Clark had to accept his fate and trudged off.
Davidson himself was then spoken to and given a yellow card. Seconds later, the same colour was flashed in front of Jack after a lunge on Adam Montgomery.
Another VAR check was signalled and Collum did come to the side of the park this time. After watching the footage for a few seconds, he signalled that no further action would be taken and Jack survived with a booking from a challenge that upset the Saints players and left Davidson bemused.
The comments in the days that follow will undoubtedly focus on VAR and it’s implementation. Like so many of the flashpoints that have occurred this term, though, it is the laws and interpretation of them by the men in black that must be looked at rather than the system itself.
CANTWELL CRUISES THROUGH DEBUT
Beale has spoken enthusiastically about Cantwell as a player and a person and this was a chance for the playmaker to do his talking with his feet. Just days after signing from Norwich City and with only a couple of sessions under his belt, he pulled on his boots for the first time in more than two months to make his bow.
The challenge pre-match from his manager was to ‘break some rules’ as Beale looked to Cantwell to provide the kind of spark that Rangers have lacked at various stages of the campaign. Expectations of a 90 minute performance were played down before a ball was kicked and Cantwell got a pleasing hour under his belt.
His first half of Premiership action was steady if unspectacular. Operating alongside Ryan Kent in the line behind lone striker Alfredo Morelos, Cantwell was neat and tidy in possession and he was constantly on the move looking to find the pockets of space to allow him the time on the ball that is so often in short supply in Scottish football.
His first chance came five minutes after the restart but the ball was just behind him and he couldn’t direct the effort on target. He had a hand in the second goal of the afternoon as his pass was flicked on by Morelos and Kamara finished well from inside the area.
There were some nice touches in there and the sharpness and fitness that he is lacking will naturally come over the next few weeks. Tynecastle on Wednesday night will be a very different experience for him but home fixtures with Ross County and Partick Thistle offer him a chance to really establish himself.
HAGI IS BACK IN BLUE
The sight of Hagi back on the Ibrox pitch was a welcome one for his manager, his team-mates and his supporters. For the man himself, it was a moment he has counted down to through some of the most difficult, in a mental sense as well as a physical one, times of his career.
Beale has an appreciation of Hagi the player and an affection for Hagi the person and this date had been circled for some time as he worked through the final stages of his recovery programme. More than a year after hobbling off against Stirling Albion, the Romanian was back in blue.
A warm round of applause greeted his name being called out pre-match. With 27 minutes on the clock, Hagi emerged from the dugout to warm up and applauded the supporters in the Main Stand and Copland Stand that rose to their feet to welcome him back.
He had to wait until 18 minutes from time to get on the park. When he did, the roar around Ibrox said it all about how fondly is felt of by the crowd and this was a major milestone reached.
Beale urged caution when he spoke about Hagi on Friday and he won’t ask too much of the 24-year-old too soon. Just days before the close of the transfer window, Hagi could be as good as a new layer for Rangers.
A LONG AFTERNOON FOR THE VISITORS
Davidson was left with a feeling of what might have been last weekend as Rangers had to grind out a victory at McDiarmid Park to progress in the Scottish Cup. This was always going to be a tougher assignment and it was a difficult afternoon for the Saints.
Losing the opening goal so early left them facing an uphill struggle and the challenge was almost impossible when Clark saw red. St Johnstone stuck to their task but Rangers dominated in terms of possession and chances throughout.
Clark lifted an attempt over the bar midway through the first half. In the closing seconds, Drey Wright rounded Allan McGregor but couldn’t get a shot away as he slipped, much to the amusement of the home crowd, with the net there to be found.
That moment could have changed the course of the second period. In the end, it was a footnote on a fixture that Davidson will be pleased to put behind him.
