St Mirren 1-2 Rangers as Dessers delivers and key man stands out

Cyriel Dessers was the hero for the visitors. His 20th goal of the campaign was enough to earn Clement’s side all three points. It was far from convincing from Rangers and it raised as many questions as answers for Clement. Ultimately, those concerns were for another time.

One game at a time

Rangers arrived in Paisley with one Premiership win in their last five outings. The defeat to Motherwell that was assumed to be a bad day at the office and a one-off result has started to look like the beginning of the end for their title chances. Drawing with Celtic was a huge opportunity missed and the points squandered against Ross County and Dundee were simply unacceptable for a side going for the silverware.

This one was a must-win. Teams that win trophies don’t get away with extended runs like that. On a day where there were huge concerns over the performance once again, the result was really all that mattered for Clement.

The Belgian has expressed his confidence that Rangers can win all of their remaining matches this season. They are now potentially four away from the Premiership and five from a treble. That sense of belief is perhaps not widely shared amongst the support, many of whom are still scarred from previous failures.

Clement will continue to preach the one game at a time mantra. All Rangers can do it keep taking care of their own business and putting the ball in Celtic’s court. This was a job done, but only just.

Central pairing set for the run-in?

The news on Friday that Abdallah Sima had been ruled out for the foreseeable future came as another blow to Rangers at a time when Clement needs all the options he can get. With Rabbi Matondo also out after the win over Hearts, there were always going to be changes in the final third here. Fabio Silva returned on the left, while Dujon Sterling switched from full-back to wide right as Borna Barisic came back into the team.

The selection at centre-half was always going to be an intriguing one. Clement put the decision to omit Connor Goldson down to ‘freshness’ at Hampden as the vice-captain was dropped. Whatever the reason was here, Goldson again had to watch from the sidelines as Clement stuck with the partnership of Leon Balogun and John Souttar.

That big call in itself was not a huge surprise. Many would have expected the duo to switch sides, though. Souttar once again operated on the left of the pairing. If Clement is going to keep faith with these two, there will be an expectation that it itself will tweaked. In the grand scheme of things, it is perhaps a small issue given some of the major ones the Belgian has to solve right now.

Lack of creativity evident again

Rangers have been notoriously slow starters in recent weeks. Behind inside 22 seconds against Celtic, they gave up chances before the minute was reached at Dingwall and Dens Park. The clock hadn’t ticked over into a second minute before Jack Butland was called into action. A poor touch from James Tavernier allowed Mandron in and Butland saved well.

That set the tone for Rangers. The first half was a low-quality affair all round. Brown inadvertently turned the ball into his own net after Mohamed Diomande had knocked a Borna Barisic free-kick back across goal. It was a telling contribution from Diomande, once again a bright light on a day where few caught the eye. There is so much still to be done and said this season, but Diomande offers hope for the future for Rangers and he is destined to be an integral part of Clement’s side next season.

Given how few chances Rangers had created, it was hard to say they merited the advantage. John Lundstram curled an effort wide of target after five minutes and came close with a volley after a Barisic corner dropped to him at the edge of the area.

Dessers was a largely anonymous figure... and yet

As time ticked away, Rangers didn’t look like scoring. A Todd Cantwell strike that was wide of the far post was as close as they came in the opening 20 minutes of the second period.

Once again, Rangers lacked invention. Once again, they needed Tavernier to help them out a hole. A teasing cross from the right found Dessers and he headed home six yards. Rangers were suddenly 15 minutes from victory.

Silva being subbed first says it all The introduction of Ross McCausland told the story of Silva’s afternoon. Clement opted to remove him from the action and keep Sterling on the right flank where McCausland has played most of his football in his breakthrough season. Silva tapped hands with the Northern Irishman and his manager and took a seat in the dugout shaking his head. This was another performance that didn’t live up to the hype or the expectations from the Portuguese.

Silva became a target for the home support after going down inside the area in the first half. It didn’t look like a dive, but there wasn’t enough in it to merit a penalty. From that moment, his every action was booed by those in black and white.

It is the opinions of those in red, white and blue he should be more concerned about, though. Silva’s purple patch is long gone and he is bang out of form. His contribution here was negligible and the man that Clement put so much faith in by bringing him to Ibrox is certainly not repaying it right now.

No clean sheet is a concern

That moment of slackness from Tavernier that resulted in Mandron testing Butland low to his right was not a one-off opening for St Mirren. Just minutes later, Mandron was in down the channel and Barisic had to scramble the ball clear after Butland saved again. He was also forced into action when a Conor McMenamin strike took a slight nick off John Souttar and McMenamin should have at least hit the target with a header from close range.

The goal that brought the Buddies level was a poor one for Rangers to lose. Mandron’s movement was good as he outmanoeuvred Balogun and his header clipped Butland’s post as the keeper was unable to keep it out. Once again, a defence that had once been so formidable was looking susceptible. Had it not been for an outstanding reaction block that saw Butland deny Bolton from close range, St Mirren would have been ahead at the break.

Mark O’Hara should have done better with a chance after Rangers again failed to convincingly clear their lines. It was one of the few openings – mercifully for Rangers – that the hosts were able to carve out after the break.