FINAL NAIL IN T
Rangers’ title bid in tatters as Saints strike late
THIS could have been the great escape for Rangers. Instead, every Tom, Dick and Harry will surely accept that Steven Gerrard’s side now won’t win the Premiership title this term.
Rangers came from behind to lead against St Johnstone but the last twist in their four-goal encounter will be the final one in the top-flight title race. For the third away game in succession, Gerrard saw his side lose more priceless points.
Florian Kamberi and Joe Aribo thought they had salvaged it for Rangers, thought they had kept their slim silverware hopes alive. But when Stevie May snatched a point for the Saints, those ambitions were killed off decisively.
Losing on the road to Hearts and Aberdeen, and being held at home by Aberdeen, had put Rangers firmly on the back foot. There is now no way back and Celtic won’t be caught.
The high of victory over Braga was blown in 90 largely abject minutes at McDiarmid Park. If the Europa League recovery job isn’t completed on Wednesday night, the Scottish Cup will be all that will remain for Gerrard in his second term at Ibrox.
As Rangers have toiled domestically in recent weeks, the search for answers has seen various theories raised and discussed. Everything from Gerrard’s tactics to the mentality of his players was raised as a possible reason for their slump in form but individual mistakes have been at the heart of most of their issues.
Too many of Gerrard’s main men have been out of form and making uncharacteristic errors, and Rangers were once again masters of their own downfall as St Johnstone took the lead after just eight minutes.
The finish from Callum Hendry as he slid the ball underneath Allan McGregor and into the far corner took plenty of composure. But the build-up to it was comical from the visitors’ perspective as simple balls weren’t dealt with and Nikola Katic was outmuscled and hit the deck.
Just seconds later, Connor Goldson was fortunate to get away with a stumble as May nicked possession. When the ball fell to Matt Butcher,
McGregor had to make a smart low save to prevent Rangers falling two goals behind.
The away side were careless in possession and second to too many balls. On a bumpy, bobbly and sandy surface, St Johnstone really ought to have capitalised on their visitors’ haplessness.
There was anxiousness around the three stands that housed the travelling support when Rangers tried to play out and the Saints attacked. Gerrard’s side didn’t look comfortable at all, but they were let off as Jamie McCart scooped an effort over the bar and David Wotherspoon fired high and harmlessly into the stand from a promising position.
Rangers had their chances too, but St Johnstone defended resolutely as Jason Kerr denied Scott Arfield and Alfredo Morelos with lastgasp challenges. Ryan Jack had seen a dipping effort tipped over by Zander Clark but Rangers were often too hesitant to take a gamble and try their luck from range.
When they got closer to target, James Tavernier’s strike from a couple of yards out rebounded around the area and McCart found himself in the right place to clear any remaining danger.
Rangers were – not for the first time this term – booed off the park at the break and Gerrard once again faced a huge team talk. He switched Aribo to left-back as Kamberi replaced Andy Halliday and Arfield fired over the bar just after the restart.
The Albanian international was perhaps unfortunate not to earn a start in Perth but he made quite an impact on his introduction. As a Tavernier