Fixtures & Results
by Stuart Gillespie at St Mirren Park
Saints picked up where they left off on Tuesday night by putting in an excellent display against Rangers to force a well deserved Scottish Cup replay against the cup holders.
After overcoming the jinx of losing an early goal to Rangers that has plagued them in recent matches, the Buddies more than matched their illustrious opponents and looked by far more likely to grab a winner as the game went on.
Michael Higdon was twice denied by Madjid Bougherra in the second half while Andy Dorman and Billy Mehmet also went close in the last 10 minutes. By contrast, Rangers only forced Paul Gallacher into meaningful action once when he had to save a Steven Davis header in the first half.
Although Rangers welcomed Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller back into their squad, they were left on the bench and the Saints support would know their team was doing a good job if either of the strikers had to be brought on. Both duly arrived after an hour, but neither was able to do anything with the woeful service they received.
The Saints players can rightly be proud of their performance. The defensive line dealt extremely well with most things that came its way and were able to frustrate the opposition's creative players, while the attacking players caused plenty of problems at the other end of the park.
Despite suggesting yesterday he would be making changes, Saints boss Gus MacPherson stuck with the team that had claimed its place in the Co-operative Insurance Cup Final on Tuesday night. The only difference was on the bench, Conor Ramsay and loan signing Graham Carey taking over from Steven Robb and Garry Brady to ensure the requirements of the under-21 rule were met. Rangers made four changes to their team, with former Saint Kirk Broadfoot, Allan McGregor, Madjid Bougherra - back from the African Cup of Nations - and Steven Naismith all starting. Captain David Weir and John Fleck dropped out completely, while Nacho Novo and Neil Alexander were on the bench.
The first two minutes have been problematic when Saints have faced Rangers on numerous occasions in recent years, but it appeared the curse had been avoided when Lee McCulloch headed well off target from a Bougherra cross inside the first minute. There were encouraging signs at the other end when Saints forced a corner, from which Higdon had an attempt scrambled away by Bougherra - who would soon become his nemesis. Another attack almost ended in disaster as Kevin Thomson raced forward with a Broadfoot clearance before feeding to Steven Davis, who drove in a cross that Kyle Lafferty pretty much tapped into Paul Gallacher's arms.
The game's other Thomson, Steven, almost had a chance to open the scoring when a great ball from David Barron was flicked on by Higdon, but it was just a little too quick and a little too far away for the midfielder to get something on. Andy Dorman then released Billy Mehmet down the left before the striker cut inside and curled a tame effort into McGregor's waiting arms. A good move allowed Barron to pick up the ball midway inside the Rangers half, but with a number of team mates better placed he decided to go for glory and was only able to find the stand behind the goal. Higdon was next to have a go after being played in by Dorman, but his shot lacked power and proved no trouble for McGregor.
The best chance of the half arrived at the other end 10 minutes before the break when a Davis header from a Broadfoot cross looked destined for the bottom corner, only for Gallacher to get just enough on it to turn it around the post. Some good hassling play from Saints forced a corner that caused a few problems in the Rangers defence, but came to an end when Higdon managed to produce a shot that cleared the stand at the railway end. The half came to a close with Gallacher again needing to save a header, although the effort from Whittaker was easy to deal with.
Half-Time: St Mirren 0-0 Rangers
The cup holders had obviously been given a kick up the backside at half time as the only time Saints seemed to be able to get near the ball was to clear it out of defence, although they were unable to carve out any real chances. Bougherra was allowed to charge forward from defence before playing a ball over the top that Gallacher managed to beat Naismith to, before Saints went up the park only for Thomson to thunder a shot over the bar.
That seemed to boost Saints and Higdon had no less than three chances to give the home side the lead. The first saw a shot blocked, but when the ball went back to Jack Ross he whipped in a cross that the big striker headed towards goal, only for Bougherra to clear it off the line. He went even closer seconds later from a Mehmet flick-on as he again beat McGregor with a chip, but yet again Bougherra was there to clear. That was perhaps the tipping point for the Rangers management team, as they quickly replaced the ineffective Lafferty and Naismith with star strikers Miller and Boyd.
Before they could do anything Saints threatened again, although Mehmet couldn't get enough on a ball into the box from Lee Mair to divert it away from McGregor. Rangers seemed to resume control after that but weren't able to create any proper chances, McCulloch sending a bouncing shot wide. The Rangers fans were on their feet moments later when Gallacher collected the ball before clattering into Thomson, but the player was able to continue without treatment. They were on their feet again when John Potter challenged Whittaker inside the box, but referee Iain Brines rightly turned down the penalty appeals.
The tiring Higdon was replaced by Craig Dargo with 10 minutes left and the striker almost conjured up a goal with his first contribution, getting the better of Broadfoot before firing in a shot that was deflected behind for a corner. The change did seem to add a bit more bite to the Saints attack and when Hugh Murray floated in a looping cross, McGregor had to be on his toes to tip it over. The next Saints chance probably didn't have him too worried, Mehmet flicking it on for Dorman, whose header was always going to find the side netting. With a couple of minutes left the Rangers keeper was called into action when he had to parry away a Mehmet drive, although there was no danger from the rebound as the offside flag was up.
As stoppage time began, Murray picked up the game's first booking for a bad tackle on Kevin Thomson. However, that was as dramatic as it got, with no sign of Rangers doing what they've done so often in the past by grabbing a late winner. As a result, both sides will have to do it all again at Ibrox a week on Wednesday.
Full-Time: St Mirren 0-0 RangersSt Mirren: Gallacher, Ross, Barron, Potter, Innes, Mair, Dorman, Thomson, Murray, Mehmet, Higdon (Dargo 80).
Subs Not Used: Carey, O'Donnell, Ramsay, Howard.
Rangers: McGregor, Broadfoot, Bougherra, Wilson, Smith, Davis, McCulloch, Thomson, Whittaker, Naismith (Boyd 63), Lafferty (Miller 63).
Subs Not Used: Novo, Little, Alexander.
Referee: Iain Brines.
Star Saint: Once gain a good team performance, with the back line putting in a good performance and Chris Innes in particular doing extremely well.
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