In the build-up to this match, St Johnstone boss Derek McInnes said the Old Firm rarely lose two games on the spin and his words proved to be prophetic.
Rangers bounced back from their weekend defeat at the hands of Dundee United with a nervy victory at McDiarmid Park to leapfrog Celtic at the top of the SPL table by one point.
The Glasgow giants secured all three points thanks to a first-half Kyle Lafferty goal and a counter by Steven Naismith in the second period.
The opener owed a lot to an error by the unfortunate Danny Grainger, but the second was straight out of the top drawer.
Sadly for Saints supporters, their club’s long SPL goal drought continues. They had more than a few chances to hit the back of the net again but were confounded by several outstanding stops by Rangers keeper Allan McGregor.
A disappointed McInnes said, “A mistake by Danny has changed the game and he knows that. It lifted Rangers and gave them something to hold on to.
“We had a lot to do after that and I thought we had one or two outstanding chances.
“But the second goal killed the game. We went 4-2-4 to try to force the issue a wee bit but we never quite did enough.”
He added, “So we pick ourselves up and move on. We just have to make sure for our own sake that we go into the Scottish Cup semi-final, which should be one of the real highlights of the season for us, in good form.
“We have Dundee United on Saturday and then Celtic, which will be very tough matches, but it is important that we go into the cup game in good spirits.”Stodgy fareRangers boss Walter Smith said, “That was a good result for us tonight at what is an awkward place to come to.
“You have to work very hard to get anything here as St Johnstone defend well, and I thought we did that.
“We were relieved to get the second goal as it made it a wee bit more comfortable for us towards the end.”
He added, “Allan McGregor had a terrific save to keep it at 1-0 in the second half. His form has been great for us over the last few seasons.
“I am pleased that we have bounced back after the disappointment of the weekend and hopefully we can start to show a level of consistency in terms of wins.”
The game kicked off at 6pm as with the match live on ESPN, it could not clash with Champions League coverage.
However, it turned out to be the sort of stodgy teatime fare guaranteed to give the viewer indigestion.
McInnes made two changes to the side which drew with Kilmarnock at the weekend, with Peter MacDonald and Collin Samuel being replaced by Kevin Moon and Jordan Robertson, making his first Saints start.
Smith made just one alteration to the line-up defeated by United, with a fit-again Lafferty replacing El Hadji Diouf.
The game’s opening was a scrappy affair, although Saints had a half-hearted shout for a penalty in the 12th minute when Grainger tumbled under a challenge by Sasa Papac.
However, the fact the Perth side’s left-back immediately regained his feet surely influenced referee Crawford Allan’s decision to wave play on.
It was at the other end of the pitch that Grainger became involved in the next moment of note and one he is sure to have nightmares about.
There was no danger in the 19th minute as he attempted to head the ball back to Peter Enckelman but his effort was woefully short.
Lafferty gleefully pounced and rounded the keeper before rolling the ball into the back of the net as Grainger sank to the turf with his head in his hands.
Five minutes later, Saints looked to hit back through a Robertson snap-shot from the edge of the Rangers penalty area, but it flew straight into McGregor’s welcoming arms.
The much-maligned McDiarmid pitch was doing nothing to help the flow of play and even caused a moment of mirth in the stands as the referee lost his footing and took a tumble.
There was a sterner test for McGregor in the 36th minute when Murray Davidson tried a speculative shot from 25 yards. The midfielder did not make the best of connections but McGregor was still forced into a diving fingertip save to turn the ball away for a corner.
Soon after, Lafferty was the recipient of the first yellow card of the match for dissent, after overstepping the mark with his protests about a disputed foul.Gers in controlSaints had a big scare in the 41st minute when Gregg Wylde flighted a free-kick into their box towards David Weir.
The Rangers skipper made a powerful connection with his head but his effort just clipped the outside of Enckelman’s left-hand post.
The start of the second half was again subdued, although Saints’ Dave Mackay managed to find his way into the referee’s book after upending Nikica Jelavic during a Rangers attack.
Then in the 55th minute, the home side came close to equalising when Moon hit a ball in from the right, which Robertson poked towards goal, but McGregor dived to his right to pull off an outstanding save.
As the hour mark passed, Saints continued to huff and puff without really pressurising Rangers and in the 65th minute McInnes decided to make a double change, bringing on Arvydas Novikovas and MacDonald for Moon and the luckless Grainger.
However, it was a Rangers mistake which nearly gifted the home side a goal in the 73rd minute when Wylde dithered on the edge of his six-yard box, allowing Davidson a clear shot at goal.
McGregor again palmed the ball away and Papac was on hand to block Robertson’s follow-up shot.
The striker had an even better opportunity shortly after when MacDonald put a testing cross into the Rangers box towards the unmarked Robertson, but he directed his header straight at McGregor.
Saints were made to rue those missed opportunities when Rangers doubled their advantage in the 82nd minute.
A one-two between Jelavic and Naismith ended with the Scotland man firing a low drive from the edge of the St Johnstone box into the left-hand corner of Enckelman’s net.
The Glasgow side had another chance when a Maurice Edu header was blocked on the line by Mackay.
Then in the 86th minute, Jelavic cut in from the left and beat Michael Duberry before hitting a shot which cannoned off the underside of the bar. Naismith looked to capitalise on the rebound but sent his header wide.