CLASS IS HALF FULL
19 down, 19 to go for silky Gers as they dismantle sorry Saints and take step closer to title Holy Grail
RANGERS are halfway there with Steven Gerrard and the fans living on a Premiership prayer.
The league leaders ruthlessly ly swept away St Johnstone last st night thanks to goals from m Kemar Roofe, Glen Kamara and d Ianis Hagi.
Steven Gerrard’s side got to the 19- game mark by y maintaining their unbeaten n league run and a 16-point lead ad over chasing Celtic, who still ll have three fixtures in hand.
Rangers have been up there re challenging with the Hoops in n the last couple of seasons but ut have always fallen away after the winter break.
This time there will be no such disruptions to derail their championship charge.
Next up is a home clash with Hibs on Boxing Day then a trip to Paisley to face St Mirren before they entertain Celtic in the New Year derby.
Whatever happens, Gerrard’s side will still be sitting top when those three games are over.
Doubts were raised about the mentality of Rangers again when they crashed out of the Betfred Cup to St Mirren.
But the response to that setback has been emphatic with back-to-back victories in their quest for the title.
Rangers’ relentless league form stands in stark contrast to that of St Johnstone, who are now six games without a win in the Premiership.
Saints are rapidly slipping away from the top-six picture and a late red card for sub Michael O’Halloran summed up a miserable night for them.
Boss Callum Davidson will know his side need to arrest this slump quickly.
But things don’t get much easier as the Perth men are off to Aberdeen on Boxing Day before they entertain Hamilton in their final game of the year.
Davidson made a number of changes from the team who lost at St Mirren at the weekend, with one enforced due to captain Jason Kerr’s red card.
Opposite number Gerrard gave Hagi his first league start in two months while Joe Aribo also came in, with Scott Arfield and Jermain Defoe dropping to the bench. Alfredo Morelos also had to make do with a place among the subs after returning from his suspension.
Some loose play from Kamara in the opening minutes gave Saints their first chance as he gifted possession to David Wotherspoon.
The midfielder twisted and turned at the edge of the box before his shot was blocked by a combination of Connor Goldson and Filip Helander.
Gerrard was clearly frustrated on the touchline and wasted no time in letting the Finnish midfielder know that he expected better.
Rangers had plenty of the ball but were knocking it from side to side without threatening in the final third.
It was similar to the first meeting of these teams at Ibrox in August, where Saints were probably the better team before Borna Barisic’s free-kick broke the deadlock.
And Gerrard’s side drew first blood again here in the 24th minute, although Saints were aggrieved they didn’t get a foul in the build-up.
James Tavernier’s loose pass inside saw Ryan Kent and Craig Conway tangle.
The ball fell to Kamara and he found Hagi who hit a low shot from distance that Zander Clark weakly pushed into the path of Roofe, who stabbed the ball into the net.
That made it nine goals in nine starts for the former Anderlecht forward this term. His strike gave Gers a boost and within seven minutes they had doubled their lead.
Steven Davis headed it on to Aribo who drove forward and produced a perfectly-weighted pass with his right foot that split open the Saints defence.
Kamara raced on to it and charged into the box before knocking the ball past Clark.
The pass was up there for assist of the season and it helped Rangers seize total control, with Saints never really troubling Allan McGregor.
The last chance of the half saw Aribo feed Kent but his shot from distance was straight down Clark’s throat.
Saints boss Davidson knew he had to do something at half-time to change the game.
He turned to his bench and sent on two attacking players
in Stevie May and Ali McCann with Conway and Murray Davidson heading off.
It was adventurous as he went with two strikers but it was Rangers who showed they were ruthless as they netted a third within 30 seconds of kick-off.
Aribo released Roofe and he cracked in a shot that was blocked by Shaun Rooney only for Hagi to collect and fire home a shot that went through the keeper’s legs.
Rangers were strutting their stuff in and around the Saints box after that killer third.
But St Johnstone did get a rare sight of goal as Chris Kane headed on to May whose shot forced Gers keeper McGregor into a decent save.
Wotherspoon was then booked after a tussle with Hagi that left the Romanian floored.
Morelos came back into the fold for Rangers when Gerrard gave Roofe a well-earned break.
Saints tried their best to get back into the game with a May shot cracking off Goldson as it deflected wide.
O’Halloran came on for Danny McNamara as Davidson made another positive change.
But the former Rangers winger was soon trooping off in disgrace after picking up a red card.
He was booked for a foul on Morelos then collected a second yellow for a poor challenge on Barisic a minute later.
It was the Saints star’s second red of the season and he now faces a spell on the sidelines with suspension.
Morelos had his chance to make amends for a disciplinary absence when Clark’s poor clearance presented him with a sight of goal.
The Colombian blew it by firing wide but it didn’t matter as Gers collected another three points.