MX23RW : Saturday, December 14 11:43:45| >> :120:27766:27766:
[monks data]
Attendance: 49,463
Rangers logo
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 24
Feb 2, 2019 at 3pm UK
 
St Mirren logo

4-0

Tavernier (3' pen., 55' pen.), Defoe (80' pen.), Kent (81')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Tavernier double helps Rangers to emphatic win over St Mirren

Tavernier double helps Rangers to emphatic win over St Mirren
© Reuters
Tavernier scored twice from the penalty spot at Ibrox.

Skipper James Tavernier scored two penalties and missed another as Rangers overcame Ladbrokes Premiership bottom side St Mirren 4-0 at Ibrox.

The Light Blues defender got the home side off the mark in the third minute then struck the post with his next effort from 12 yards, a decision disputed vehemently by the visitors, before grabbing his second early in the second half.

Striker Jermain Defoe made it 3-0 in the 79th minute, also from the spot, before Ryan Kent added a fourth two minutes later.

Steven Gerrard's side moved to within three points of leaders Celtic, although Brendan Rodgers' men can restore their six-point lead against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Sunday as the title race keeps going.

As expected, Gerrard ran the changes from the William Hill Scottish Cup win over Cowdenbeath in midweek, with only new signings Steve Davis and Defoe and Nikola Katic keeping their places.

Saints, who had lost their previous four league games, made one change, with defender Anton Ferdinand in for Kyle McAllister while recent signings Mateo Muzek, Laurentiu Corbu and Dukens Nazon were on the bench.

The visitors got off to the worst possible start by conceding a penalty with less than two minutes played, defender Ethan Erhahon clumsily tripping Defoe inside the box to leave referee Andrew Dallas little option but to point to the spot.

Tavernier sent Buddies keeper Vaclav Hladky the wrong way with his penalty which should have been the catalyst for the Light Blues to surge on. However, it all went rather flat.

Rangers' second and more controversial penalty in the 23rd minute was again for a challenge on Defoe, this time by right-back Paul McGinn. And after lengthy protests from the Buddies players, for which defender Jack Baird was booked, Tavernier struck the outside of the post with his shot as Hladky dived the other way.

Kent clipped the top of the bar in the 35th minute with a curling shot from the edge of the box before Hladky saved a Defoe header from a terrific Katic cross.

The third penalty came in the 55th minute when Tavernier's cross was adjudged to have been handled by Greg Tansey, this time the Ibrox right-back blasting the ball down the middle.

Rangers v St Mirren – Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership – Ibrox Stadium
Rangers' James Tavernier holds the ball after he scored twice against St Mirren (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Immediately, Nazon, on loan from Sint-Truiden, came on for Simeon Jackson to make his debut before Gers winger Daniel Candeias replaced Davis.

Rangers slowly cranked up the pressure and Hladky blocked a close-range shot from Defoe and then Morelos' effort on the rebound was blocked on the line by Ferdinand.

Muzek, on loan from Shakhter Karagandy, came on for Erhahon in the 72nd minute to make his St Mirren debut as did Romanian full-back Corbu, on for Paul McGinn.

In between those two substitutions, Hladky made good saves from Morelos and Candeias as Rangers pushed for a third which came through yet another penalty when Candeias was hauled to the ground at the edge of the box by Tansey, with Defoe blasting past Hladky before setting up Kent to dink the ball over the Saints keeper for number four.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Ronnie Esplin, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'ff2a5555-ce0c-47d4-93df-0772d2f6c27c');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:match-reports');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Tavernier double helps Rangers to emphatic win over St Mirren'});

ID:349115: cacheID:349115:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8306:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
A calm and composed Neil Lennon in charge of Hibs in April 2018
Read Next:
Relationship between Hibernian players and Neil Lennon unchanged - David Gray
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic1514104444043
2Aberdeen16104230181234
3RangersRangers1510232791832
4Dundee UnitedDundee Utd156632215724
5Motherwell157171823-522
6Dundee165472729-219
7St Mirren165381926-718
8Ross County163671230-1815
9St Johnstone1642101829-1114
10Kilmarnock163581734-1714
11Hearts163491825-713
12Hibernian162681828-1012


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!