How Rangers rectified recent mistake and issue that remains for Rohl

Tuur Rommens scored the only goal of the game to see off the Buddies. Thelo Aasgaard saw a late effort ruled out for offside as Rangers held on.

It was a significant step in the right direction for Danny Rohl's side after blowing their two-goal lead against Celtic and then losing the Old Firm Scottish Cup tie on successive weekends.

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Dream is still alive for Rangers

Rohl has been firm in his assertion that there would be many more twists and turns to come over the final weeks of the campaign. One of them arrived on Saturday evening as Hearts were beaten at Kilmarnock. Celtic, of course, were winners over Motherwell earlier in the day.

This was the first of what Rohl had billed as nine cup finals. Given how Rangers so often look more effective when the pressure is off, perhaps he would have been better calling them nine dead rubbers. Regardless of how it was framed, it was won.

This was not a performance that inspired confidence. It was a result that should, though. The deficit now stands at three points to Hearts and Celtic remain narrowly ahead. These next few weeks are going to be fraught.

A first win on the road since their victory over Aberdeen in mid-January was timely for Rohl’s side. This was the first win collected in a month and the since the afternoon that Hearts were beaten at Ibrox. The momentum lost and opportunities squandered since then will take longer than one 90 minutes to recover from.

This was a small but significant step in the right direction. Many more must now be taken as the finishing line approaches. There are still three horses in the race.

Rommens is the hero

If only Rommens had converted a similar chance from a similar position a couple of weeks ago against Celtic. Nico Raskin provided the cross from the right and his fellow Belgian scored at the back post. It was a neat finish from close range and gave Rohl’s side a lead they merited. It was hard not to cast minds back to the opportunity that Rommens had in the Old Firm league fixture.

The man that scored twice that day should have doubled the advantage here. Rommens provided the cross this time as Rangers worked a short corner but Youssef Chermiti couldn’t even hit the target from just yards out as he wasted a glorious chance.

Those moments were the best ones for Rohl’s side. A series of corners came to nothing. There was plenty of possession, but not enough cutting edge. In that sense, it was all very familiar.

So was the sense of injustice amongst the Rangers support. Early in the half, Raskin nodded a cross towards goal and saw the ball strike the arm of Alex Gogic. Appeals for a penalty were dismissed as the moment quickly became a talking point online.

Two more Raskin headers followed after the restart. The first from a corner routine was nodded back across goal before St Mirren scrambled clear. The second was narrowly wide of the target from a James Tavernier delivery. Minutes later, Shamal George made an excellent stop to deny the Ibrox captain. The second goal never arrived.

Clean sheet was crucial

It has been a week of change for the Buddies. Stephen Robinson’s departure for Aberdeen marked the end of an era in Paisley and the task of putting a team on the park fell to Craig McLeish and Jamie Langfield. Four alterations were made from their Scottish Cup win over Partick Thistle.

The importance of this fixture in terms of the title race was clear. The Saints have their own battles to fight right now, though. That win for Killie moved them level on points with St Mirren and the need for them to start collecting wins was clear.

The hosts would have fancied their chances against a side that have struggled on the road of late. At the break, it was Rangers who had the advantage. St Mirren could have few complaints.

The partnership of Manny Fernandez and Nasser Djiga was again a resolute one. A header from Alex Gogic that was wide of target and one from Dan Nlundulu that Jack Butland held were as close as St Mirren came in the first period.

The keeper was untroubled for much of the second half. St Mirren had more about them on the ball but still didn’t possess a cutting edge. Jake Young got in behind Tavernier but pulled his strike wide of Butland’s far post with five minutes remaining.

Issues on the right persist

The option of asking those who started the Old Firm defeat seven days ago to go out and prove a point and make amends was taken out of Rohl’s hands. A shoulder injury saw Mohamed Diomande watch on from the sidelines as Tochi Chukwuani returned to the midfield. Connor Barron added to those options by featuring for the first time since January.

The calls that Rohl made were big ones. Tavernier came back in at right-back in place of Dujon Sterling. Ahead of him, Djeidi Gassama started as Andreas Skov Olsen dropped out. The Dane’s contribution has been called into question on the back of two underwhelming derby showings and he could have no complaints about missing out here.

Skov Olsen was the first alteration for Rohl. Gassama didn’t see the hour mark. It was another ineffective showing from the wide man, with a snap shot that he skewed wide early on one of the few times he popped up in a threatening position.

Skov Olsen entered the field with a point to prove. A wasteful pass from wide into the midfield conceded cheap possession. A dreadful touch when he tried to stop the ball going out, for what would have been a Rangers corner, handed St Mirren a goal kick.

Aasgaard replaced Chermiti with 20 minutes remaining. At the same time, Barron took Chukwuani’s place in midfield. Naderi was now the focal point despite running on fumes.

The German’s respite finally came as Bojan Miovski took over. Rommens had been Rangers’ best performer and was replaced by Jayden Meghoma.

Cavenagh gesture a touch of class

The away end was not exactly a sea of noise and colour around 45 minutes before kick-off. As the wind and rain swirled, the supporters took their spots more in hope than expectation. They were joined by a familiar and famous face as Andrew Cavenagh left the suite in the Main Stand and made his way around the pitch and to the away end.

The chairman spent ten minutes or so shaking hands and posing for pictures. It may seem an inconsequential gesture, but it said much about Cavenagh. The American is a smart, switched on operator and understands the value of doing the right thing at the right time. A small show of support and gratitude spoke volumes at a time when he needs everyone inside and outside of Ibrox to be pulling in the same direction.

That was the case here. The away end was not as vocal as it has been at times this term, and understandably so. Those successive Old Firm setbacks were such crushing blows for the fans to sustain that it will take time for them to have faith and belief again. With eight games remaining, they are going to have a part to play.