Premier League

March 6, 2011
  • FTFT
     
    St Mirren
    Rangers
    0
    1
    0
    1
    1

Full-time

St Mirren

0 - 1

Rangers

Premier League

12:45 +00:00, March 6, 2011

St Mirren Park, Scotland

Referee: William Collum

Bartley off the mark in Gers win

Madjid Bougherra, Kyle Bartley
PA Photos
Kyle Bartley celebrates after putting Rangers ahead at St Mirren

Scoring Summary

St Mirren Rangers
 Kyle Bartley (24')

Match Stats

St Mirren

Rangers

8(2) Shots (on Goal) 7(2)
14 Fouls 13
6 Corner Kicks 5
3 Offsides 1
45% Time of Possession 55%
1 Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0
2 Saves 4

Teams

St Mirren Rangers
1 Paul Gallacher1 Allan McGregor
6 John Potter3 David Weir
5 Lee Mair16 Steven Whittaker
2 David van Zanten12 Richard Foster
16 Jure Travner24 Madjid Bougherra
11 Jim Goodwin21 Kyle Bartley
8 Steven Thomson8 Steven Davis
7 Hugh Murray7 Maurice Edu
45 Kenny Mclean15 David Healy
10 Michael Higdon17 El-Hadji Diouf
19 Paul McGowan10 John Fleck
Substitutes
12 Craig SamsonNeil Alexander 25
17 Marc McAuslandGreg Wylde 39
27 Patrick CreggDarren Cole 45
20 Sean LynchSalim Kerkar 28
33 Aaron MooyKyle Hutton 41
9 Craig DargoKane Hemmings 48
40 Lamont 
Substitutions
Craig Dargo for Jim Goodwin (80)
Greg Wylde for John Fleck (72)
Aaron Mooy for Kenny Mclean (90)
Kyle Hutton for David Healy (73)
Yellow Cards
Jure Travner (72)
 
· Squads: St Mirren | Rangers

Kyle Bartley opened his goalscoring account for Rangers as they claimed a 1-0 victory at St Mirren.

• Smith: Victory was crucial

Bartley, the on-loan Arsenal defender, grabbed what proved to be the only goal of the game in the first half, with the win allowing Rangers to move back to within five points of leaders Celtic.

The victory for the depleted Ibrox side also provided a timely boost ahead of their Europa League last-16 clash with PSV Eindhoven on Thursday.

Rangers made one change from their Scottish Cup exit to Celtic on Wednesday night. Sasa Papac was ruled out after suffering a head knock at Parkhead and David Healy was drafted into the starting line-up.

With eight players sidelined for the trip to Paisley, the Scottish champions were able to name just six substitutes, including under-19s striker Kane Hemmings who was on the bench for the first time.

Saints made three changes from their defeat to Kilmarnock, with Lee Mair recovering from illness, Paul McGowan back from suspension and Kenny McLean also starting.

Marc McAusland and Craig Dargo were named on the bench after picking up slight injuries, while Darren McGregor missed out because of personal reasons.

Rangers dominated the possession in the opening spell and could have been ahead early on.

El-Hadji Diouf slipped the pass through for Healy in front of goal who took a touch before unleashing the shot. His effort was smothered by goalkeeper Paul Gallacher but the offside flag was raised anyway.

At the other end, Steven Thomson picked out Michael Higdon at the back post but he connected awkwardly with the shot and Madjid Bougherra was able to clear the danger.

John Potter's ferocious header was then hooked off the line by John Fleck as Saints pressed for the opener.

Rangers withstood the flurry of chances from the home side and could have had the net bulging when Steven Davis curled a dangerous free-kick into the box but Gallacher was able to produce a one-handed save and tip over.

The Ibrox side were ahead after 24 minutes when Bougherra's cross from the left flank was met by Bartley at the back post and he rose above everyone in the goal-mouth to send a header into the back of the net from close range.

Saints could have been back on level terms when David van Zanten teed up the shot for McLean but he blasted over, without really testing Allan McGregor in the Rangers goal.

St Mirren were first back onto the pitch after the break and clearly felt they were capable of hauling themselves back into the game.

McLean's corner shortly after the restart sailed above everyone in the box before falling for McGowan but he was well off target with the shot.

Rangers were threatening with a corner of their own as they chased a second goal, Fleck picking out Maurice Edu 12 yards out and his volley dipping over the crossbar.

Rangers made a double change with 20 minutes to go, as Healy and Fleck were withdrawn for Kyle Hutton and Gregg Wylde.

But it was Edu who should have doubled the advantage when he collected a Davis ball and looked set to smash home only to see his effort fizz across the face of goal and wide instead.

Walter Smith's men had the chance to pile on the pressure when Diouf was tripped on the edge of the area by Hugh Murray, but Wylde's resultant free-kick crashed off the Saints wall, before the home side swapped Jim Goodwin for Dargo.

But they failed to find the goal that would give them the point as Rangers held on for the win.

  • Smith: Victory was crucial

    Rangers manager Walter Smith said the victory was crucial to their title hopes as he bids to steer his side through an injury crisis.

    The Scottish champions were without eight players for the trip to Paisley and were only able to name six substitutes, and Smith wants more of the same from his depleted ranks against Kilmarnock next Sunday in a bid to keep the pressure on the Hoops.

    He said: "When you get a situation like the one we have where we are a number of games behind Celtic at the moment, it's important to get the win.

    "From our own point of view, we have injury problems at the moment. As far as the league is concerned, today's game and next Sunday's game are vitally important for us in the sense that, after that, I would hope to see quite a number of our injured players coming back.

    "So it was good to get a win today."

    Kyle Bartley's winner was his first goal for Rangers after joining on loan from Arsenal in January and Smith has been impressed with the young defender so far.

    He said: "He has had a fair amount of football at Sheffield United in the first half of the season so it's slightly easier for him to come in, although it is slightly more awkward for him on that side of the pitch than it is on his more natural right side.

    "He's 19 and he looks like he will be a good player, with a good future. He has done well since he came in for us.

    "When you are only 1-0 up at the end of games, it's always a little bit nervy but I'm pleased that we won it in the end. There weren't a great deal of opportunities for either side so we are just pleased that we managed to win because it's always a difficult game here. It's a pleasing one for ourselves."

    Next up for Rangers is a Europa League last-16 clash against PSV Eindhoven on Thursday and Smith is not expecting too much good news on the injury front ahead of the trip to Holland.

    He said: "We might have Vladimir Weiss back but he is probably the only one. He's just got a badly bruised foot and I would hope that would settle a little bit, but he's probably the only one who will be back on Thursday. We have a depleted group but we just get on with it."

    Saints boss Danny Lennon refused to read too much into Rangers' injury woes, insisting they still had enough quality to cover.

    He said: "They still had very recognisable names in their starting XI and when they bring players in, they are guys with European experience.

    "I actually felt the ones who would cause us the most problems today would be the fringe ones. They are the ones who want to play in the cup finals, they are the ones who want to play in the big games in Europe and in the rest of the campaign to come."

    But he did believe the narrow defeat against the Scottish champions was a missed opportunity for the Buddies, who are still not safe from relegation.

    He added: "I thought throughout the game - and even prior to the game - that we would get something.

    "We are disappointed with the outcome, not getting any points on the board, but we certainly got enough passion and desire and there were a lot of committed boys out there and great effort.

    "For the last 15 minutes of the first half and most of the second half we took the game to them."