Rangers respond with emphatic win as their strikers find form

Rangers found fresh momentum with a 4-0 victory over St Johnstone. Derek McInnes had called for a response after his team dropped two points at Dundee the previous weekend, and his players delivered emphatically. Strikers Kevin Kelsy and Ryan Naderi were central to the performance, with Lawrence Shankland and Youssef Chermiti still absent.

The pair combined for Kelsy’s opener. The Venezuelan striker went on to score twice, while Naderi added a goal and an assist. Their partnership offered McInnes encouragement after he chose to start with two forwards and leave Djeidi Gassama on the bench. Former Rangers striker Peter Lovenkrands said: « Goals and assists from a striker make a big difference to the style of play and the way you approach the whole game. »

Rangers also scored from a corner: Kelsy’s second goal, finished after Emmanuel Fernandez flicked the ball on, was the team’s first from a set-piece corner this season. Andy Halliday noted that set-pieces had been one of Rangers’ strengths last season. He had also criticised the delivery this season, particularly when James Tavernier was not taking the corners and wide free-kicks.

The numbers underline Rangers’ control. They had 21 shots, put nine on target and created eight big chances, compared with two for St Johnstone. Rangers’ expected-goals figure was 4.57 to their opponents’ 0.58. There was a brief wobble early in the second half, when St Johnstone threatened to get back into the match, but Rangers were otherwise on top.

McInnes described the display as « as good as we’ve been for a while ». The win sets Rangers up for Wednesday’s Scottish Premiership trip to Hearts. The manager acknowledged the challenge of playing at Tynecastle and recalled that his team went unbeaten there last season. He will hope Rangers can carry their good form into that fixture, with their forwards’ renewed scoring touch offering an additional boost.