A Rangers transfer ploy paid off again on Wednesday night as yet another loanee helped to land a big title blow to Celtic.
Robby McCrorie is one of several Gers players out elsewhere in the Premiership this season, with the deals bringing plenty of benefits.
The players concerned receive much-needed playing time that they wouldn’t get at Ibrox, while they also considerably strengthen other sides in their bid to take points off Celtic.
What’s more, there’s no chance of it backfiring, as a clause in the deals ensures the loanees can’t turn out against their parent club.
Already this season, Jamie Murphy has starred for a Hibs side that held Celtic to a draw at Easter Road, Ross McCrorie played the full 90 minutes for Aberdeen in a 3-3 draw with the Hoops at Pittodrie and Stephen Kelly helped dump Neil Lennon’s side out of the League Cup with Ross County.
On Wednesday night, it was Robby McCrorie’s turn to get in on the act.
The 22-year-old goalkeeper returned to the Livingston playing XI for the first time in three months for their league clash against Celtic and he produced an excellent display.
He was beaten by first-half strikes from Mohamed Elyounoussi and Nir Bitton as Celtic came from a goal behind to lead 2-1, but he then pulled off a number of key saves to keep his side in the game.
The Scotland youth international rushed from his line and spread himself well to keep out a Kristoffer Ajer effort just before the interval.
He later clawed a looping Elyounoussi effort away from the top right corner and stopped an acrobatic Ryan Christie effort, ensuring Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’ 60th-minute strike was enough to earn the hosts a point.
It was yet another damaging night for Celtic, who have failed to win any of their last four Premiership matches and are now 20 points behind Rangers with just two games in hand.
The title race now looks all but over and while Steven Gerrard’s first-team players deserve major credit for their performances, several of the club’s loanees are also worthy of praise for helping the cause along the way.
