St Johnstone 0-1 Rangers: Jason Holt scores own goal to give Gers much-needed away win in Scottish Premiership.
Report as Rangers earn first away victory in Scottish Premiership since September at St Johnstone; Jason Holt turns into his own net during second half to give visitors the points; Rangers earn second win in four days after hammering Nice on Thursday in the Europa League.
Rangers secured a narrow but comfortable 1-0 victory over St Johnstone to end their terrible away record in the Scottish Premiership. Amid continuous rumours regarding Philippe Clement’s future, the Light Blues arrived in Perth fresh off a remarkable 4-1 Europa League victory away in Nice on Thursday night, which moved them closer to the knockout stages.
Rangers, on the other hand, reverted to the dour brand of game that has defined their league season, with the victory coming in the 63rd minute of an improved second half via an own goal by former Gers midfielder Jason Holt to secure their first league away win since September.
Clement’s side remain in third place, 11 points behind leaders Celtic with title hopes still looking threadbare and with Gers fans remaining puzzled by the Jekyll and Hyde nature of this season.
Moroccan striker Hamza Igamane, who scored a double against Nice, got the nod over Danilo and regular forward Cyriel Dessers.
Romanian midfielder Ianis Hagi, who was also absent from the European team, made his first Rangers appearance since May 2023, while skipper James Tavernier replaced the injured Dujon Sterling. Saints kept the same starting lineup as in their 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock last week, and they mostly kept the visitors at bay in the opening half. In the 15th minute, Gers winger Vaclav Cerny finished a good play by cutting in from the right and drilling a shot just wide of the target from the edge of the box.
Less than 10 minutes later, as the Ibrox side stepped up the pace, Saints ‘keeper Josh Rae dived to his left to push a low drive from Igamane wide of the target, after the Gers striker had been set up by Connor Barron.
Gers winger Nedim Bajrami failed to connect correctly from a Tavernier cut-back, and Rae saved his shot following a cleared corner. Bajrami and defender Robin Propper were substituted in the second half by Ridvan Yilmaz and Leon Balogun, while midfielder Aaron Essel replaced Graham Carey for the hosts. Rae had little to do in the second half until the 55th minute, when he made a good stop on Tavernier’s 25-yard free kick. Danilo then replaced Jefte as left-back as Clement reshuffled his team, and they quickly took the lead.
With the Saints pressed back into their own box, Hagi’s cross from the left bounced over Rae’s head, and the unfortunate Holt could only turn the ball into his own net on the goal line, under pressure from Tavernier, who would have scored. Rae made saves from Danilo and Hagi as Rangers maintained possession, and the Saints custodian denied Danilo twice more as the visitors dominated the final stages.
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