Cantwell 'bright spark' as Rangers beat Saints

Last updated on .From the section Scottish Premiership

Rangers manager Michael Beale said debutant Todd Cantwell was the "bright spark" as his side eased past 10-man St Johnstone in a controversial match in the Scottish Premiership.

Jack then immediately avoided a red card for a late tackle despite a VAR check before Glen Kamara sealed the points for Rangers after the break.

It means Rangers are still unbeaten since Beale took over at Ibrox, with nine wins from 10 games, and his side move six points behind leaders Celtic, who visit Dundee United on Sunday.

St Johnstone, meanwhile, are on their worst run of the season as they suffered a seventh defeat in a row and stay in eighth place.

With Cantwell coming straight into the line-up after joining from Norwich City and Ianis Hagi making his comeback off the bench after a year out, Rangers now have more attacking options at their disposal and had plenty more chances to add to the scoreline.

Alfredo Morelos was denied three times by goalkeeper Remi Matthews in the first half alone and Ryan Kent also had two good opportunities saved, while Fashion Sakala did too.

"The clean sheet, Todd's debut and Ianis's return [are all positives]," Beale said. "In between, there was some good play without being ruthless enough in the box to score two or three more.

"Todd hasn't played since the beginning of November, but I wanted to get him out there and I thought he was the bright spark of the day."

The opener came when a cross deflected off Connor Goldson's back and struck Brown's outstretched arm, with Tavernier confidently dispatching above Matthews and into the net.

Kamara's calm finish effectively ended the contest after Morelos cleverly flicked Cantwell's pass into the midfielder's path.

St Johnstone were well beaten in the end, but manager Callum Davidson will feel his side's chances were dampened by decisions, including the penalty call.

Clark was sent off on 36 minutes with his side 1-0 down when his late tackle caught Jack high.

A minute later, the Rangers midfielder, clearly furious at the challenge on him, caught Adam Montgomery robustly on the ankle but was only shown a yellow card.

Referee Willie Collum stuck with that decision despite being sent to the monitor, much to St Johnstone's fury.

Drey Wright then missed a gilt-edged chance to score a shock leveller right on half-time, but after he fell over having gone round goalkeeper Allan McGregor, Rangers cantered to another victory that ought to have been more convincing by the end.

Rangers put in a performance that has been typical since Beale took charge, effective while not being completely efficient going forward.

Cantwell showed glimpses of what he could bring to the attack, with a clever pass into Morelos for the second goal, while it will be fantastic for Beale to have Hagi back after a year.

He will hope that different options and competition for places will allow him to mould Rangers into a slicker attacking unit. Kent and Morelos both continued their much-improved performances since the change of manager, although both need to find a more clinical edge.

All they can do is keep trying to improve slowly and hope, somehow, Celtic drop points before the next derby.

As for St Johnstone, six league losses in a row means they are looking over their shoulder again, but their past two performances against Rangers have had positives.

Daniel Phillips was effective in midfield alongside Cammy MacPherson. Davidson will scratch his head that his side had to play more than half the game with 10 men, or at least that both sides did not finish with a man down.

Wednesday's meeting with Motherwell will be a bigger target for Saints, who have shown often enough this season they are a good side.

What they said

Rangers manager Michael Beale: "The game lacked a little bit towards the end in speed. In general, we were the dominant team. One or two decisions have gone in our favour that their management team will be disappointed with. Onwards and upwards for us."

St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson: "The players let me go tonto on the sides. After we had the difficult decisions against us, they didn't crumble.

"They worked extremely hard. I was pleased with the performances, you can see the togetherness and energy there."

Rangers could face a stern test against in-form Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday (19:45 GMT), while St Johnstone face Motherwell at Fir Park at the same time.