The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Saints left ‘gutted’ despite fightback
Stoppage-time winner for 10-man hosts
St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright admitted he was “gutted” for his players after they lost to a stoppage-time goal against Rangers at Ibrox last night.
The home side opened the scoring in the first half through Barrie McKay with Martyn Waghorn doubling their advantage at the start of the second 45. The visitors pulled one back through David Wotherspoon before the home side’s Rob Kiernan was sent off for a foul on Graham Cummins.
St Johnstone looked to have taken a point when skipper Steven Anderson equalised but Rangers scored at the death through Emerson Hyndman to secure the win.
Saints did at least restore some pride after the abject display and result against Kilmarnock at the weekend with Wright insisting they looked more like their normal selves against Rangers.
The McDiarmid manager said: “There was a lot of disappointment on Saturday with the performance but it is a different type of disappointment tonight.”
RANGERS 3 ST JOHNSTONE 2
St Johnstone suffered last-gasp agony against Rangers at Ibrox last night when they had what looked like a hard-won point snatched from their grasp at the death.
The home side seemed to be cruising at 2-0 up thanks to goals from Barrie McKay and Martyn Waghorn but David Wotherspoon pulled one back for Saints and then Rob Kiernan was sent off for the home side late on to ensure a nervy finish.
This Saints side never knows when it is beaten and skipper Steven Anderson provided a great finish to make it 2-2.
However, deep into stoppage-time Emerson Hyndman broke St Johnstone hearts with what proved to be the winner.
Saints boss Tommy Wright had cancelled his players’ day off on Sunday after the dismal display and defeat against Kilmarnock 24 hours earlier at McDiarmid Park.
Not surprisingly, the manager rang the changes as he looked for a big response in Govan with Danny Swanson, Paul Paton, Keith Watson and Liam Craig replacing Chris Millar, Wotherspoon, Tam Scobbie and Chris Kane in the starting line-up.
Rangers, of course, still had Graeme Murty in temporary charge as the search for a permanent replacement for Mark Warburton continued and the caretaker boss made two changes from the side that slumped to a second successive defeat against Inverness last Friday night bringing in Jason Holt and Clint Hill for Andy Halliday and Danny Wilson.
Rangers made a confident start and had the first opportunity in just the fourth minute when the ball broke to Hyndman in the Saints box but the on-loan Bournemouth player’s shot flew wide of Zander Clark’s left-hand post.
Shortly after, Saints’ Steven MacLean capitalised on a Rangers error and tried his luck with a drive from 20 yards but it flew high and wide.
The home side had a superb opportunity to open the scoring in the 10th minute when James Tavernier swung a free-kick in from the left with Jon Toral having a free header but he sent the ball wide when he should have at least tested Clark.
Hyndman then had another attempt on goal from the edge of the St Johnstone box but again his radar was off and he sent the ball wide.
McKay was next to have a pop for Rangers from 20 yards but his strike was straight at Clark who gathered easily.
However, McKay made no mistake in the 22nd minute when the ball broke to him 18 yards out and he clinically drilled a low shot past the diving Clark and into the corner of the net.
Rangers had a chance to further extend their lead in the 39th minute when Hyndman played a great pass into Waghorn who burst into the box before unleashing a shot that Clark did well to save.
The Saints keeper then made an even more impressive stop just before halftime when Jason Holt hit a 25-yard shot that looked for all the money to fly into the top corner of the Saints net but Clark dived high to his right to pull off a stunning acrobatic save.
Rangers definitely finished the first 45 looking the stronger and St Johnstone would have to up their game if they were to take anything from this match.
Just two minutes after the restart, Saints passed up a gilt-edged opportunity to equalise when Watson sent a superb cross in from the right towards the onrushing Craig but he somehow sent his point-blank header wide.
And St Johnstone were left to rue that miss in the 49th minute when the home side extended their lead. Kenny Miller swung a cross in from the right with Waghorn sending a glancing header past Clark.
St Johnstone had a huge let-off in the 66th minute when sub Joe Garner somehow contrived to hit the woodwork with a point-blank shot after great work by Hyndman. However, Wright’s men grabbed a lifeline in the 74th minute when sub Wotherspoon latched on to a ball in the Rangers box before sending a curling effort high past the despairing dive of Foderingham.
Rangers were then sensationally reduced to 10 men just four minutes later when Kiernan clattered into the back of sub Cummins with referee Kevin Clancy deciding the challenge was worthy of a straight red.
Saints toiled manfully trying to make their one-man advantage count and secure an equaliser and they did just that, stunning Ibrox in the 87th minute.
Wotherspoon sent a corner in from the right with the ball breaking to skipper Anderson who smashed the ball past Foderingham and into the back of the net from 12 yards.
Hyndman then hit the bar with a shot and it looked like Saints would hold on for
a draw but the same Rangers player supplied the killer touch in the 92nd minute when he spun before firing low past Clark.
Attendance: 46,800. Rangers: Foderingham, Tavernier, Hill, Kiernan, Wallace, Toral (Halliday, 82), Miller (Garner, 64), McKay, Hyndman, Holt, Waghorn (Wilson, 79). Subs not used – Alnwick, Forrester, Hodson, O’Halloran.
St Johnstone: Clark, Alston (Cummins, 67), Anderson, MacLean, Swanson (Wotherspoon, 70), Shaughnessy, Paton, Foster, Watson (Coulson, 82), Easton, Craig. Subs not used – Mannus, Scobbie, Smith, Thomson.
Referee: Kevin Clancy.