SAINTS CAN’T HAND
Rangers fire four past sorry Perth side as preparations for PSV play-off gain pace
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IVEN the temperatures in Glasgow this weekend there was perhaps no need to refer to Rangers’ outing against St Johnstone as a warm-up.
And while a dismantling of the Perthshire side came via an emphatic second-half showing in which Rangers turned up the heat on the Saints, there is a question as to whether a game so one-sided is indeed effective preparation for the rigours that Rangers can expect to face across two legs when they take on PSV Eindhoven in their UEFA Champions League play-off.
The first leg of that comes on Tuesday night with this routine win over St Johnstone ensuring that Rangers go into the game on the back of a 100-per-cent domestic record. It is unlikely that the game offered anything too meaty for Giovanni van Brockhorst to ponder this weekend although there would have been some satisfaction at the manner in which his summer signings showcased their credentials.
Antonio Colak claimed his third goal in three games for the Ibrox side, Tom Lawrence netted his first competitive strike while Malik Tillman got the ball rolling with the opening goal after exploiting the massive gaps that St Johnstone had left. Scott Arfield had come off the bench to score one and set one up as Rangers dismantled their visitors.
It is unlikely that they will find PSV quite so accommodating on Tuesday evening.
There was some interest when the team sheet emerged yesterday afternoon given the magnitude of a game upon which a £40m bounty rests.
The most noticeable absentees were Alfredo Morelos who remained on the bench despite the theory that an hour of game time may have been beneficial for the striker ahead of Tuesday night’s first-leg home tie against PSV. There seemed to be something pointed about the Rangers manager’s remarks to the club television channel regarding the Colombian’s fitness – or lack of it – that he did not feel he was sufficiently conditioned to start the game.
Similarly, there was no Ryan Kent at all in the match-day squad with the winger rested entirely ahead of that game. “I expect him to be available for Tuesday,” said van Brockhorst after the game.
It was a fairly predictable start to the encounter with Rangers dominating possession as St Johnstone worked frantically to restrict the time and space that the Ibrox side had.
There were a couple of penalty shouts in the opening period, the first of which came when Colak went down under a challenge by Alexander Mitchell, a call that would have been ridiculously harsh on St Johnstone had referee Nick Walsh relented to the shouts of the home support.
Then an incident where the ball seemed to shave the hand of Adam Montgomery inside the penalty area provided the next appeal as Rangers enjoyed a lot of the ball without really testing St Johnstone goalkeeper Remi Matthews.
The stopper had one decent save from the impressive John Lundstrum as he tipped an effort from the midfielder over the bar from the edge of the box immediately before Rangers found the breakthrough. The resultant corner came to nothing but with St Johnstone ultimately failing to properly clear the danger, James Tavernier’s raking ball to the back post was read perfectly by Tillman.
With St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson increasingly animated on the touchline as he could see the time and space that the unmarked
Tillman was allowed, he could only lament the inevitable consequence of allowing him to move so freely.
St Johnstone’s only real opportunity to make for a more interesting afternoon came when Graham Carey’s ball into the box knocked off of Borna Barisic and fell into the path of the grounded Theo Blair, but he could not steer his effort beyond Jon McLaughlin. Other than an effort from distance from Carey there was little else to bother the Ibrox keeper across the duration of the 90 minutes.
The interval offered some respite for St Johnstone although there was an inevitability as Rangers went in search of a killer second. Rabbi Matondo thought he had claimed it when he whacked a furious effort off the crossbar
from the edge of the box but it took until just after the hour mark for St Johnstone’s resistance to break.
Most frustratingly for Davidson was the self-inflicted nature of the goal as Drey Wright got caught dithering with the ball inside his own box with Matondo quick to scent the danger. His interception fed the ball to Colak who turned to finish sharply and signal the roof coming in on the Perthshire side.
The cushion allowed Rangers to ring the changes with Tuesday night in mind and, with the game won, it was a case of sustaining the tempo and urgency.
Scott Arfield netted the third with Matondo the architect again after he had cut in from the flank, rounded Matthews and slipped the ball precisely into the feet of the veteran midfielder on the edge of the six-yard box. Arfield had the simple task of sweeping into the net from close range.
There was a quick fourth as St Johnstone struggled to stem the tide. It was Lawrence who claimed his first competitive goal for the club but it was a familiar face who created it with Tavernier central to it.
The full-back had cushioned a long pass from Morelos with his head before controlling the ball and driving forward from the middle of the park. Having forced his way into the Saints penalty box he delivered to Arfield who set up Lawrence with a volleyed finish.
It was a fair reflection of the dominance that Rangers displayed throughout. Sterner tests await.