Rangers Fall to St Mirren
Image credits: Alan Harvey / SNS Group
Rangers' turbulent campaign took another downturn as St Mirren won in Glasgow to record back-to-back victories over the Ibrox club for the first time since the 1979-80 season. Mikael Mandron fired in on 51 minutes, celebrating exuberantly after his initially disallowed strike was eventually awarded by referee Kevin Clancy after consulting the monitor. Fresh off the bench, striker Toyosi Olusanya delicately curled in the visitors' second of the afternoon to seal three points with 20 minutes left to play and move the Paisley club into the Scottish Premiership's top six.
The defeat - coming two weeks after the Scottish Cup humbling by Queen's Park - is Rangers' first in 10 league matches and keeps them 13 points behind Celtic after their defeat earlier in the day. A settled start from Rangers was nearly dashed by aimless distribution from Jack Butland. The keeper's wayward pass found the feet of Jonah Ayunga, whose lashed effort forced a strong stop, before Mandron fired over on the rebound. Two minutes later Rangers showed their threat, as Vaclav Cerny tested Zach Hemming with a stinging shot after chopping inside from the right; the first of a handful of opportunities the hosts failed to capitalise on.
On the cusp of half-time referee Clancy wasted no time in brandishing a straight red card at Hamza Igamane following his late lunge on Mark O'Hara. However, he was summoned to the screen and downgraded the dismissal to a yellow card. It would not be the last time the referee reviewed a decision on the screen. Not long after, VAR intervened once more before St Mirren were awarded a goal after Mandron fired low beyond Butland after it was deemed that Clinton Nsiala had tripped himself and had not been fouled by the scorer. The Scottish Premiership table has taken a significant turn with this result, and the pressure is mounting on Rangers' manager Philippe Clement. The team's performance was underwhelming, warranting the vocal response from the fans.
Despite the defeat being their first league loss of 2025, an all-round poor performance from every Rangers starter warranted the vocal response. Hamza Igamane brought unpredictability - but little accuracy - to the Rangers trio in behind Cyriel Dessers, as Ianis Hagi and Vaclav Cerny brought technical ability but zero spark on the flanks. While Dessers was consistently making sharp movements in behind, he failed to get on the end of the majority of deliveries and his threat was quelled by Alex Gogic. The match scores were as follows:
- Rangers 0
- St Mirren 2
- Mikael Mandron: 1 goal
- Toyosi Olusanya: 1 goal
Credit can only be given to Nicolas Raskin, who battled well at the base of the midfield against brawny Mandron, consistently getting the better of St Mirren's number nine when the two clashed. After failing to score in their last two league outings, Mandron and Jonah Ayunga started together as a two up top and excelled. Mandron dropped deeper, holding up the ball and utilising both Ayunga and overlapping wing-back Ryan Alebiosu well to carry the ball up the pitch. Olusanya netted within five minutes of his introduction, as he perfectly replicated the pace and pressing nous of the substituted Ayunga. The tournament schedule for the Scottish Premiership will see Rangers face Kilmarnock in their next match, while St Mirren will face Hearts.
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