St Mirren vs Rangers GW3

The Russell Martin disaster continued with more pain in Paisley as Rangers dropped points yet again in a dire 1-1 draw with a poor St Mirren side. True to the infamous Martin ‘system’, Rangers controlled 71% of the possession at the SMISA Stadium yet did not look like the more threatening team until late into the second half. Interestingly, Rangers started the game without a recognised striker, with Aasgaard playing as a false 9 in a gamble that did not pay off.

John Souttar, standing in as captain again, set the tone in the 7th minute as he was humiliated by Ayungo who muscled him off the ball before breaking forward towards Butland in the Rangers goal. Thankfully for Souttar, Nicolas Raskin did well to clean up the mess tracking Ayungo deep into the Rangers box.

Rangers did manage to threaten down the right wing over the following 10 minutes however ultimately to no avail. Antman found Cameron and then Rothwell with low crosses, with Cameron’s shot being blocked and Rothwell sending his wide of the mark.

The momentum started to swing the other way in the 18th minute, when St Mirren first exposed Rangers’ weakness at set pieces by picking out Gogic from a dead ball - a pattern that would repeat itself throughout the afternoon. Bizarrely, Lyall Cameron, a player not exactly known for his aerial prowess, was the player covering the big Cypriot hammer thrower while Fernandez and Souttar were nowhere to be seen. On this occasion, the header was fired straight into Butland’s hands.

The Buddies continued to pile on the pressure. Meghoma, otherwise solid in the first half, was pressured into a costly turnover that gifted the hosts a dangerous opportunity. Rothwell failed to track Killian Phillips, who thankfully spared Rangers by dragging his effort wide of Butland’s goal.

Rangers’ best chance of the half came soon after. Meghoma, who topped the states for cross accuracy and passes into the final third, delivered a superb ball into the box for Cameron. Emblematic of Rangers so far this season, instead of converting the opportunity, Cameron blazed his effort over the bar.

In the 33rd minute, the moment we all knew was coming arrived. Mikael Mandron split the Rangers defence like Moses with a decisive through ball for Ayungo, whose pace had already terrorised Souttar and Fernandez. Butland was hesitant to rush out and Ayungo punished him with a tidy finish to make it 1-0.

The first half drew to a close with a couple of wasted opportunities to equalise. Aasgaard somehow failed to equalise through a 0.83 xG opportunity in a scramble following another Meghoma delivery into the danger zone, minutes before Gassama forced a save from George after some good individual work.

The second half opened with a whimper as St Mirren were happy to sit back with their lead while Rangers offered nothing. Despite this, the first real chance of the second half came from the home side with Ayunga getting the better of Fernandez before passing the ball straight to Butland.

Rangers’ set piece struggles continued to show when Shaymal George found a teammate unmarked from a deep free kick in the right half-space. Minutes later, they found Gogic who should have done better with an easy header from a free kick. It could, and perhaps should, have been 2-0.

The introduction of Findlay Curtis in the 76th minute was the first sign of positivity from a Rangers perspective. The young winger made an immediate impact, scoring with what is becoming a trademark placed finish from the edge of the box making it 3 goals in 6 from the Rangers academy product. Just a minute later, a dangerous break forward saw Gassama feed the ball through to homegrown winger who forced a save from the St Mirren keeper leaving all Rangers fans thinking - why is this young man not starting games?

The match then started to fizzle out with St Mirren never really looking vulnerable to conceding. The game, however, could not end without another Souttar calamity at the back. Souttar was bullied into giving away a free kick by 17-year-old striker Evan Mooney and predictably, Gogic once more had an easy header from yet another tragic defensive set piece for Rangers.

Leaving Paisley with a point will surely be the final straw for the majority of Rangers fans for a manager whose position was already seen as untenable by many. Groundhog Day is a term all too familiar to the Rangers support and this fixture was yet another with the same weak, wide open and gormless defence, horseshoe pass network and total lack of intensity that has become all too predictable this season.