It took Rangers a while to get going but in the end they looked like Scottish champions in the making and beat St Johnstone comfortably to move to the top of the Premiership.
Mohamed Diomande’s long-range first half strike and two James Tavernier VAR penalties saw Craig Levein’s side fall to their third defeat in a row.
And of the three games Saints have played against Rangers and Celtic since Levein took over from Steven MacLean, this was probably the least threatening the McDiarmid Park side have looked from an attacking perspective.
Bigger battles await, of course, but the fact that Jack Butland didn’t get his gloves dirty should be a frustration at any stage of the season.
That absolutely nothing of consequence happened in over 20 minutes’ worth of football should probably have been viewed as a good way for this game to start for Saints given who their opponents were – and the huge incentive Celtic’s dropped points the day before had provided them.
We nearly got something on 24 minutes but not quite.
John Lundstram played a long diagonal pass over the top of the Perth defence.
For a moment it looked like Oscar Cortes would have the chance to run in on goal and get a shot away, however Ryan McGowan read the situation well and recovered in time to snuff out the danger.
From the Saints side of things, an Adama Sidibeh fresh air shot from just inside the box after a long throw fell at his feet was as good as it got.
If containment was the game-plan, it was out of the window shortly before half-time.
McGowan tried to play a short pass to Dan Phillips after making a timely interception but picked out Diomande instead.
He took full advantage by lashing an unstoppable 20-yard shot past Dimitar Mitov.
Second half sub
Craig Levein made a half-time change, replacing David Keltjens with Benji Kimpioka.
Just 23 seconds after the re-start it was nearly game over.
Diomande crossed from the right and Fabio Silva’s volley forced Mitov into making a superb, low save.
The next Rangers near thing came from the opposite side.
This time it was a Todd Cantwell cross and a Dujon Sterling glancing header that had Mitov beaten but narrowly missed the target.
With two strikers on the pitch – both of them fast – it would have been a huge frustration to Levein that when Saints did get the opportunity to spring a counter-attack the accuracy of the pass let his team down.
Neither Kimpioka nor Sidibeh were effective enough with the timing of their runs, mind you.
And the same could be said when they got the ball into feet with a defender at their back.
Kimpioka did well to draw a foul out of Tavernier near the box, however.
And when Matt Smith delivered the set-piece, the ball came off the top of Lundstram’s header and didn’t miss the goal by much.
Not long after that, Saints were 2-0 down.
🗣️ "It's 2-0 Rangers, and it looks like they will be hitting the heights of the Scottish Premiership."
James Tavernier scores from the spot to double Rangers' lead against St Johnstone after a VAR check. Watch the closing stages live on Sky Sports 📺 pic.twitter.com/MDbavfIYdO
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) February 18, 2024
Sterling made a powerful block tackle on Graham Carey and the substitute was then brought down by Andy Considine in the box.
Referee Matthew MacDermid didn’t point to the spot but the VAR official Greg Aitken soon sent him to his pitch-side monitor and Tavernier did what Tavernier does.
This time there was no controversy.
There was still time for another Rangers goal – from another VAR penalty.
It mattered little as far as this result was concerned but file it in the ‘highly dubious’ category.
A Tom Lawrence shot struck Luke Robinson’s arm. The defender couldn’t do anything to get out of the way.
As with the first penalty, Tavernier was clinical.
St Johnstone player ratings
Mitov 7, Considine 6, McGowan 6, Gordon 6.5, Carey 5.5, Sidibeh 5 (Clark, 82), Robinson 6, M Smith 6, Keltjens 5 (Kimpioka, 45), Phillips 7.5, C Smith 6 (Kucheriavyi, 80). Subs not used – Richards, Gallacher, Jaiyesimi, Olufunwa, Sprangler, K Smith.
Saints’ star man – Dan Phillips
There wasn’t much opportunity for the midfielder to get his foot on the ball but when he did, he used it wisely more often than not.
That he completed 90 minutes bodes well given recent muscle injury issues.
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