GERS’ 5 GUN SALUTE
Gerrard’s men relentless in march up to second place
THE RAF abseiled down the Govan Stand before kick-off as Rangers climbed ominously on to the shoulder of Hearts.
Servicemen apart, the only personnel on the ropes were the poor footsoldiers from Perth, pummelled into submission on Armed Forces Day at Ibrox.
St Johnstone were the casualties of a war of collective wills as Rangers players laid down a Premiership marker, so significant after events at Rugby Park a couple of hours earlier and Tynecastle the day before.
Steven Gerrard has ordered his side to be relentless and ruthless and there was incision to match their invention as they made Saints, who are no top-flight slouches, look ordinary.
For the last half hour this was all about damage limitation for the visitors, even if they mustered a consolation from the spot when Scott Arfield nudged Blair Alston off the ball and the Saints midfielder blasted his penalty right down the middle.
This was the most emphatic win for Rangers over Saints at Ibrox since a 4-0 victory in February 2011 on route to their last SPL title.
If they continue to play with this level of confidence and Celtic, in particular, keep struggling with this early-season form slump, you wouldn’t bet against them going the distance again.
This was as close as Rangers have come to their most complete 90-minute performance since Gerrard took charge over the summer as they rattled in five goals to match the four they scored against Dundee eight days previously.
Rangers fans will be whispering it rather than shouting loudly at this stage but it’s performances like this, in the aftermath of a fine result against Villarreal in the Europa League, on which successful seasons are founded.
There were no failures in the Ibrox line-up and even if Connor Goldson suffered a couple of eccentric moments they were only eye-popping in the context of the security he has offered his defence this season.
Rangers were particularly well served in the middle of the park by Arfield, Ryan Kent and Daniel Candeias but it was Alfredo Morelos who played with a selflessness and maturity that was eye-catching after his recent diva antics.
The Colombian striker was involved in three of his side’s five goals, all of them impressive, and even chipped in with his first strike in seven games, his seventh of the season.
He had no right to find the net in 34 minutes when he was played inside at an acute angle by James Tavernier, but turned Jason Kerr inside out to find space to fire a thunderous shot behind Zander Clark.
Rangers were already a goal to the good by then after skipper Tavernier opened the scoring with a trademark free-kick after just nine minutes when he had been upended by Scott Tanser, although Clark’s role in the opener was questionable.
To put it bluntly, if Britain built its Second World War defences as poorly as he constructed his wall for the free-kick, Winston Churchill’s reputation would be in tatters.
Tavernier was somehow afforded the space to curl his set-piece around the outside of the wall and inside the keeper’s left-hand post. And the manner in which former goalie Tommy Wright stared down the pitch in disbelief told its own story.
Saints had potential to cause problems on the counter – David Wotherspoon should have done better than fire over with the game’s first real attack in seven minutes.
But the game was over as a contest as soon as Morelos struck.
There was no doubt about it seven minutes into the second half when Morelos broke on the counter and turned Joe Shaughnessy before firing a low cross over for Kent, whose first-time effort hit the bar. But Arfield
wasn’t for standing on celebration as he lashed the loose ball into the net and Rangers set about turning the screw against a side that were sliced far too open far too often.
Tavernier had already cracked the bar in the first half with another free-kick and Morelos also lofted a shot on to the top of the bar shortly after the interval but the dominance of the home side was further confirmed with a fourth in 74 minutes.
Sub Kyle Lafferty, given a rest after his Europa League exploits, came off the bench and slotted a right-foot shot low into the corner of the net after the ball had been shovelled in his direction by Arfield after more unselfish work in possession by Morelos.
Alston’s spot-kick offered Saints a brief respite from the onslaught, although Tony Watt had been unlucky in the first half when a low shot scraped Allan McGregor’s right-hand post after Nikola Katic was short with a backpass.
It would have added intrigue to the game had Saints pulled it back at that stage but the forward momentum of Rangers was such they would have likely found another way to breach the visitors’ rearguard.
Alston’s penalty, for example, only served to irk Rangers and they broke forward just moments later when Arfield was again the supplier. He pushed the ball wide for Candeias to move it from his right foot to left before drilling the fifth beyond the bedraggled Saints defence. Rangers peppered the Saints goal with efforts in the second half and Kent and Arfield went close to giving the score a gloss it deserved, although Saints rallied towards the end. Matty Kennedy and Danny Swanson came close with efforts that whizzed narrowly past McGregor’s goal. But the destination of the three points, like the safe arrival of those abseilers on the trackside, was never in doubt.