Rangers defeated St Johnstone 4-0 at home in a match they dominated from start to finish. Manager Derek McInnes called for a reaction from his side after dropping two points at Dundee, and his players responded with a convincing performance.
The goals and performances of Kevin Kelsy and Ryan Naderi justified McInnes's decision to keep David Gassama on the bench and start with two strikers. Kelsy scored two goals, while Naderi added a goal and an assist. The pair linked up well for Kelsy's first goal. McInnes stated that the performance was 'the best we have had for a while'.
Andy Halliday, a guest on Sportsound on BBC Radio Scotland, assessed that Rangers were excellent for numerous reasons and that it had been 90 positive minutes. He highlighted that they created a plethora of chances and that the score should have been 4-0 at half-time. He added that it is always positive when there are no injuries and when the strikers are scoring again. Peter Lovenkrands also spoke to Sportsound, emphasising that goals and assists make a huge difference to a striker's style of play and approach to the whole game, and that this performance will do the world of good for Kelsy's confidence.
The statistics confirm Rangers' dominance. Their expected goals was 4.57, while St Johnstone's was 0.58. Rangers fired 21 shots on target, of which nine were on target, and created eight big chances compared to two for the Saints. They also won 13 corners. One of them led to a goal when Kelsy arrived at the end of Fernandez's clearance to score his second, which was the first goal Rangers have scored from a corner this season.
Halliday noted that one of Rangers' main strengths last season was set pieces, but that this season they had had countless corners and wide free kicks when not taken by James Tavernier, with very poor delivery quality. He said the team has Naderi, Kelsy and Fernandez, giants to hit, but that the delivery had mostly not been good enough, until on the 11th corner today they finally scored.
The match prepared the team well for Wednesday night and the Scottish Premiership encounter with Hearts. It is the first return of Rangers' manager to Tynecastle since he replaced Gorgie with Govan in the summer. McInnes stated that he had a great time there and knows how difficult a game it is for any visiting team to go to Tynecastle. He reminded that they were unbeaten all season at Hearts last year and that they have a strong home record, which means they will have to provide a big performance to go there and get a result.
McInnes added that they are well aware of this, but thinks they are in good form and are slowly but surely recording wins and that there are many positive things. He highlighted that it is never bad when strikers are scoring and when you go to any game, any place, believing you can get a result. He expects it to be difficult, but equally wants to ensure that it is a difficult night for them too.
