Rangers leave it late to end their winless streak
Steven Gerrard never doubted that Rangers would beat St Mirren to end their run of three matches without a win.
But he does wonder if Daniel Candeias meant to aim for goal when he broke the Buddies’ resistance.
The Portuguese winger came off the bench to fire a shot that went soaring over goalie Craig Samson from the right of the penalty box.
He was booked for running to celebrate the strike with supporters and later picked up a mysterious second yellow card in added-on time – a decision branded “embarrassing” by the Rangers manager.
The 31-year-old had his name taken by referee Willie Collum after being on the end of an uppercut by Saints defender Anton Ferdinand following Rangers’ second goal.
Gerrard defended the 31-year-old’s conduct, but not his claim that the goal was a carefully-executed shot.
He said: “According to Daniel, he meant it. “I’ve been in the game a long time and haven’t seen anyone score one of those, not on purpose anyway.
“The first half was tough. I said to my staff that if we were level at half-time we would win this game.
“We did our best in bad conditions, the most important thing is we didn’t concede.
“I was happy to be 0-0 at the break because I knew we would create in the second half.
“The pleasing thing was that we didn’t get frustrated about the way things went in the first 60 minutes.
“The lads kept plugging away, kept creating chances, and ironically it came with a little bit of luck, but I believe you make your own luck in this game.”
Wet and blustery conditions ensured that the silky football was gone with the wind from the off.
St Mirren made the most of the awkward conditions, pressing Rangers and using the long balls to pressure the visitor’s defence. The Ibrox men had Allan Mcgregor to thank for keeping them on level terms within the first 15 minutes.
He reacted smartly to tip a deflected Mcshane free-kick over the bar and then pulled off an impressive reflex stop when Edwards shot from close range.
For an hour, it looked like Rangers’ recent failure to create chances in the final third would again cost them dearly.
They upped the pace during the second half, but there was little finesse about the attacking play.
It was summed up by a scramble that saw shots from Arfield, Ejaria and Candeias all blocked as the ball fired around the home penalty area.
Daniel Candeias looked like a man with a point to prove when he came off the bench and eventually made his telling contribution.
He replaced the largely ineffective Eros Grezda, ironically just after a shot from the Albanian hit the inside of the post and bounced to safety.
The goal came just after Steven Gerrard gave James Tavernier a verbal rocket for clipping the ball over the crossbar. Whether or not Candeias was meaning to cross or shoot, there was little Samson could do to stop his effort.
However, the goalie might have done a bit better right at the end when he failed to stop a lashed Morelos shot from a tight angle.
The striker was hit by an object thrown from the home support as he ran towards them after scoring.
It was while celebrating the Colombian’s 14th of the season that Candeias was accosted by Samson and then by Ferdinand, before being sent off.
St Mirren came up with a composed and spirited performance, but have now lost seven league games in a row – their worst run since the 1920s.
Manager Oran Kearney was disappointed to lose, but saw encouraging signs in his team’s performance.
He said: “The first goal was always going to be huge and if one had gone in for us it could have been a huge catalyst for us.
“It was important for the fans that we saw a bit of passion and saw that it meant something to people.
“Just after half time, we’re throwing five and six bodies at it to keep it off the line – those are the qualities you want to see.
“A game like this has brought them out and you want them to be there in future weeks.”