Rangers had much to be grateful for last night. They were grateful to Allan McGregor for the three superb saves that kept them in the match. They were grateful to Stuart McCaffrey for the self-inflicted wound that did for an otherwise stoic St Johnstone.
Rangers had much to be grateful for last night. They were grateful to Allan McGregor for the three superb saves that kept them in the match. They were grateful to Stuart McCaffrey for the self-inflicted wound that did for an otherwise stoic St Johnstone. They were ultimately grateful for their place in the fifth round of the Homecoming Scottish Cup, if not quite for the unglamorous trek north to Forfar.
Walter Smith was just grateful for a win by any means at McDiarmid Park. After 10 days of bluff, bluster and banking issues surrounding the proposed sale of Kris Boyd to Birmingham City, any failure to negotiate Derek McInnes's commendably competitive side would have turned an economy-driven drama into a full-blown football crisis. Nacho Novo removed any lingering tension with a scoring cameo from the substitutes' bench, a dagger to the heart of a St Johnstone team that seemed intent on adding to Rangers' problems.
There were moments to savour for Rangers in a gritty and compelling cup tie. The return of Steven Naismith, nine months after he lay in a heap on the Hamdpen turf against the same opposition, gave the team an unusually effective outlet on the left side of midfield. John Fleck, a beacon of hope amid the financial and qualitative downturn for the club, finished the game alongside Barry Ferguson. There remains genuine hope that the 17-year-old bulwark will eventually replace Ferguson as captain and orchestrator.
For St Johnstone, the plaudits had a patronising edge after this luckless defeat. They peppered McGregor's goal in the first half and in the brutish Jody Morris had the most eye-catching outfield player. McGregor took some beating.
In a first-half sequence, he saved acrobatically from Gavin Swankie, Liam Craig and, most impressively of all, Andy Jackson. McGregor has not been without moments of calamity on and off the field this season but chose a fitting occasion to redeem himself, only days after his Old Firm counterpart, Artur Boruc, added another error to his list.
So much for the Scottish Cup providing a welcome distraction from Rangers' financial woes. Sir David Murray nipped along to a chilly McDiarmid Park from the comfort of his Perthshire pile and must have wondered why he bothered. The chairman witnessed the first banner reflecting what has been obliquely referred to as the clamour on the streets'. It declared: David Murray Must Go! He also encountered a stadium announcer in boisterous mood.
How's this for a playlist? Money by Pink Floyd, Money, Money, Money by ABBA, Money for Nothing by Dire Straits and Money's Too Tight to Mention by Simply Red. The cruellest selection was Bruce Springsteen's classic, Glory Days, and Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash was labouring the point. With this soundtrack blaring in the background, Boyd limbered up impervious to the supposed resurrection of his £3.75m transfer.
An early sense of foreboding was vindicated by the events of the first half. St Johnstone simply swept their illustrious yet embattled opponents aside in the opening minutes and, remarkably, would have taken a three-goal lead into the interval had it not been for the timely return of McGregor's heroics. Rangers had no antidote to their hosts' relentless enthusiasm. They did not require one as it transpired, after enduring wave upon wave of attack.
How the home fans loved their side's rampages, piping up with regular taunts of "You're up for sale, you're up for sale" as the Rangers defence risked the kind of arrears that normally constitutes repossession. Swankie both engineered and executed the opening gambit. He was fouled recklessly by Sasa Papac, a man pressed into crisis mode from the off, dusted himself down and thumped a meaty free kick towards the top corner. McGregor, not for the last time, sprung into action to beat the ball away with both fists.
Craig took encouragement from the early endeavours. Twice he surged through the hole in Rangers' central area, whacking a left-foot shot that was shovelled away by McGregor and following up minutes later with a volley that dipped wide of the keeper's right-hand post. The best Rangers could offer in reply was an arrowing shot from Pedro Mendes that was cupped into the bosom of the forty-something Alan Main.
With every defiant gymnastic contortion from McGregor, St Johnstone's prospects of actually finding the net diminished. Their next great chance was also their last. Paul Hanlon's cross from the left was flicked on by Derek Holmes and Jackson's venomous strike banged off McGregor's right boot with the goalkeeper adopting the star-fish pose.
Gradually, Rangers rediscovered their senses, with the hitherto anonymous Ferguson snatching possession forcefully and engaging those who had previously skulked around the periphery. The emergence of a distinctly non-plussed Smith from the tunnel into the technical area confirmed all was not well but inspiration arrived from an unlikely source two minutes before half-time.
Naismith's aimless cross bounced all the way to Steven Davis, who found Boyd. Kenny Miller fluffed his attempt to back-heel the striker's low-flying cross and amid the confusion, McCaffrey smacked the ball past his unsuspecting goalkeeper.
It was a cruel blow to a team that had earned a half-time cuppa and cosy chat with a satisfied manager. Instead, they had 45 minutes to emulate their first-half display without the self-harm. It was asking too much. Rangers exerted as much control of the second half as St Johnstone did the first, only without the clear-cut chances. Davis's shot across the face of goal was swatted on to a post by Main and Novo's introduction consigned St Johnstone to a harsh fate.
