Rangers turn up heat on leaders Celtic despite controversy in Paisley

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Under the floodlights of the Marbill Coaches Stadium, Rangers maintained their pursuit of league leaders Celtic with a dominant 2-0 win over St Mirren.In truth, the scoreline scarcely reflected the visitors’ control of proceedings, a superiority anchored by a dominant midfield display and punctuated by goals from Ryan Naderi and Dan Neil in either half.This was an exercise in efficiency for Rangers manager Derek McInnes as his side arrived in Renfrewshire looking to maintain their unbeaten away record in the league this season. Making just one change from last weekend’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final triumph over Aberdeen, his side displayed a fluid composure that left the hosts chasing shadows for long periods.

Dan Neil celebrates scoring for RangersAlthough Rangers have endured an inconsistent record on previous visits to Paisley, dropping points in three of their last four league outings, their latest success extended a domestic unbeaten run to 12 matches and left them in a confident place heading into the final international break of the year.St Mirren, under the stewardship of Craig McLeish, had promised a robust, positive approach as they looked to arrest a worrying slide in form that had saw them lose six of their previous eight games. Naderi stepped forward, ignored the jeers, and showed admirable composure to confidently dispatch the penalty into the bottom right-hand corner, with Jacob Chapman diving the opposite direction.Going behind did little to alter St Mirren’s conservative shape as their build-up play lacked urgency, and Rangers continued to dictate the tempo.

The hosts did have a penalty appeal of their own dismissed when Ramos’ header back across goal appeared to strike Naderi’s hand. St Mirren did mount a late, spirited assault on the visitors goal, but were denied on several occasions by Pandur.