St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson highlighted the quality of Rangers’ squad following Saturday’s 5-2 victory at Ibrox with Mick Beale bringing Glen Kamara, Scott Arfield, Ianis Hagi and Rabbi Matondo off the bench.
That, Robinson says, was the difference between the two sides on an enthralling afternoon.
St Mirren appeared to have a point in the bag with ten minutes to go in Glasgow, two Mark O’Hara goals – including one stunning volley – cancelling out a Todd Cantwell clip and a clever Fashion Sakala header.
That was, however, until Rangers flexed their muscles after the interval. Beale brought on four international players with over 100 caps between them before pulling clear with a trio of late strikes. Alfredo Morelos rolled back the years with two in the blink of an eye before Cantwell – quietly effective since arriving but loudly excellent this weekend – assisted a typical Arfield goal with a scandalous ‘no look’ assist.
Rangers beat St Mirren 5-2 at Ibrox
“15 minutes to go, we are sitting 2-2 at Ibrox. There wasn’t enough eight or 9/10 performances, we know that. You need that to win here. So that’s the disappointing aspect of it,” Robinson sighs; St Mirren letting a superb result slip away.
“The reality is that we are bringing two 18-year-olds off the bench to try and win the game. They are bringing on international footballers with vast experience. But we know that gulf. We know that gap.”
Old Firm rivals Celtic may be champions-elect – Ange Postecoglou’s side cruised past Kilmarnock and have now won 30 of their 32 Scottish Premiership games – but the impact Beale has made since taking over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst should raise hopes of something akin to a two-horse race next term.
Rangers now have arguably their strongest, deepest squad since returning to the top-flight in 2016. Then again, with Morelos, Ryan Kent, Arfield and co all out of contact, it remains to be seen if a Rangers side who recently lost director Ross Wilson can succeed in bringing in replacements of equal quality.
