Author: BBC Sport
James Tavernier scored twice as managerless Rangers made a “small step in the right direction” by taking advantage of an early red card to beat St Mirren and leapfrog their hosts into second place in the Scottish Premiership.
The visiting captain tucked away a spot-kick after Ryan Strain was sent off for a deliberate handball on the half-hour mark.
But, despite a couple of fine saves from Zach Hemming, Rangers rarely looked like extending their lead until Abdallah Sima slotted the second with 20 minutes remaining and Tavernier launched a stunning, stoppage-time strike.
“The pressure was on coming into the game, to come to a really difficult place with they way they’ve started the season, so to score three goals and keep a clean sheet, I’m delighted,” Rangers interim manager Steven Davis told BBC Scotland.
“It’s just about building blocks right now. The feeling in the dressing room has been low, so hopefully this will give them some belief.
“At times we could have done a bit better, we made it harder for ourselves against the 10 men. But for us, it’s just about being positive. We move forward after this.”
The victory was ended St Mirren’s six-game unbeaten home run since the start of the season and take the Ibrox side above them and into second place on goal difference.
More importantly, it means Rangers do not end the weekend further detached from Premiership leaders Celtic.
Both managers had opted for speed up front, with 17-year-old Zak Lovelace given a first Rangers start and Toyosi Olusanya coming in for the hosts.
Combined with two sets of full-backs showing typical attacking intent, defences were under immediate pressure as play ebbed from end to end.
However, the early promise had descended into a dour midfield slog until Lovelace showed why he had been preferred to several big-money summer signings with a dangerous cross into the six-yard box.
Sima failed to bury it at the far post, but replays showed that it had been diverted on its way to the on-loan Brighton & Hove Albion forward by the hand of the backtracking Strain.
Tavernier slotted his fifth goal of the season, but even that – and the extra man – failed to hand Rangers significant dominance of possession.
Hemming was required to thwart a Connor Goldson header and close-range Nicolas Raskin volley before half-time.
However, the visitors could only rest easy when Raskin rolled into the path of Sima on the break to fire his seventh goal of the season and Tavernier added some late gloss.
Player of the match – James Tavernier (Rangers)
Question marks remain for Rangers – analysis
Davis had reacted to the Europa League defeat away to Aris Limassol in his debut as caretaker by making four changes to his starting line-up.
While he suggested it was down to a desire to freshen up the team, the start given to Lovelace ahead of Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers hinted at his displeasure at another disjointed performance by Rangers’ summer arrivals.
That was given greater credence by Davis’ decision to give 20-year-old Ross McCausland only a second appearance when forced to replace Lovelace after the teenager pulled up with a hamstring injury shortly after winning the spot kick.
Even with St Mirren down to 10 men, the hosts looked every bit as capable of scoring the next goal as Rangers until tiring late on.
That will give manager Robinson some consolation and his Rangers counterpart – and whoever is appointed as a permanent successor to Michael Beale – additional cause for concern in equal measure.
The Paisley side’s wait for a win over Rangers now extends to 10 games – and Robinson has yet to taste success against the Glasgow side in 17 fixtures in charge of Motherwell and now St Mirren.
However, considering they were a man down for so long, St Mirren again showed they have the organisation and quality to challenge for a top-six place.
What they said
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: “There’s no denying it is a penalty and a sending off. The game turns on its head after that.
“I thought we started really brightly, we were the better side, passed the ball really well. We tried to stay in the game for 65 minutes. Maybe I should have waited another 10-15 minutes, but that’s not our style.”
Rangers interim manager Steven Davis: “It’s incredible numbers that [Tavernier] posts season after season. He’s a top player, a leader within the dressing room. His character is really good, he has come in for unfair criticism at times.
“I hope this lifts the while dressing room, everyone around the club needed it so we just have to make sure this is the first step in building something.”
Rangers host Hibernian on Saturday 21 October as St Mirren visit Ross County (both 15:00).