Gers breathe sigh of relief as winless run comes to end
MARK WARBURTON got some comfort on and off the pitch yesterday as Rangers capped their winless Premiership run at four games.
Banished to the stand for haranguing the officials at Aberdeen, the Light Blues manager had the perfect padded seats view of a victory that, if not exactly swaggering, was nevertheless convincing.
And as much as he will have enjoyed Niko Kranjcar’s excellent opener, he will likewise have been heartened by the Croat’s positive comments after the game.
“I don’t think we played our best football but we won the game which is the most important thing,” said the 32-year-old Ranger.
“After a month when we didn’t get a win in the league it was really important to get back to winning ways.
“Obviously the whole team has had its ups and downs until now but we haven’t been in the Premiership for a couple of years and we are getting there.
“We are working hard and I still believe in this group of players and the management staff.
“We have a good season ahead of us, I am sure of it.
“Now we have the international break coming up and we have to work hard, get ready, pick up three points away from home and then we can talk come Christmas about where we are in the title race.”
After the wounding loss to Aberdeen at Pittodrie this was just what the doctor ordered – a game against an opponent who hadn’t beaten them in their last 23 meetings, a run stretching back to January 1993.
It was the first outing for Philippe Senderos since his ill-fated debut against Celtic in early September.
Then, the former Arsenal regular had found the pace of the Hoops front players too hot to handle and he was red carded for a second bookable offence.
Here against a Thistle side who had their captain Abdul Osman back after suspension, he was lucky to escape a caution, if not a red card, for straight arming Ade Azeez to the ground.
“I can’t comment too much... I don’t think the referee or fourth official saw it,” said Azeez.
“He has blocked me, put it that way. He’s got me in my face.
“I’ve just got my eyes on the ball and he has just checked across me.
“I don’t think he has his eyes on the ball but that’s football and unfortunately he got away with it.’
“I don’t mind that side of the game but when it gets to the point where maybe it is a bit unfair and he is never looking at the ball, well...”
It was to be only a temporary letoff, with the 31 year old Swiss booked by half time after one foul on the former England youth internationalist too many.
While the Light Blues were dominant the suspicion began to build that a lack of clinical finishing up front, could be their undoing.
Until, that was, the intervention of Kranjcar.
The 81 times capped Croatian had been looking in the mood from the first whistle and he brought the crowd to their feet when slaloming his way into the Thistle box past first one defender then the next before smashing a shot high into the roof of the net.
It was the moment of class the game, and Rangers in particular, had been waiting for and it provided the perfect platform for Warburton’s side to build on.
An intercepted pass from Danny Devine allowed them to break against a side pushing forward and they took full advantage with Martyn Waghorn cutting inside and teeing up Halliday who netted with a shot neatly placed inside Ryan Scully’s post.
Thistle showed a renewed sense of purpose on their return after the interval and went agonisingly close to halving the deficit with a lovely move through the centre.
Liam Lindsay found Steven Lawless in space who in turn played in Erskine.
The forward looked to have beaten Wes Foderingham with a shot the keeper could only palm goalwards but the latter recovered and was able to intercept the ball before it crept over the line.
It was as close as the visitors were to get, though substitute Sean Welsh deserves a mention for flashing a fierce right foot shot wide late on from distance.