Cyriel Dessers strikes again as Rangers win ugly against St Mirren to turn up title heat on Celtic – 3 talking points

Cyriel Dessers strikes again as Rangers win ugly against St Mirren to turn up title heat on Celtic – 3 talking points

Rangers demonstrated their battling spirit by surviving a slugfest with St Mirren in Paisley thanks to Cyriel Dessers’ 12th goal of the season.

Despite severe gusts buffeting the SMISA Stadium, Philippe Clement’s team refused to be blown off course.

Dessers rolled the game’s sole goal into an empty net after rounding Buddies goalkeeper Zach Hemmings early.

There were a few unpleasant moments for the big Belgian as Saints threatened to respond.

Kwon, on loan from Celtic, squandered a wonderful opportunity midway through the first half,

before defender James Bolton rocked the crossbar late in the game.

But the Gers hung on for a tremendous win that momentarily brings them up to within two points of Celtic at the Premiership summit.

A squidgy pitch and a swirling breeze did not make for a smooth encounter.

However, it was the visitors who adapted the quickest to the challenging conditions, scoring 14 minutes in. John Lundstram was a little heavy-handed in his first two attempts to bring in teammates.

But his third pass was spot on, sending Dessers sprinting in behind.

The Nigeria striker’s first touch brought the ball past Zach Hemmings, and his second gently stroked home for his third goal in as many games since returning from the winter break.

Elvis Bwomono, the Saints’ right-back, was to blame for allowing Dessers to get past the Buddies’ defense.

But he should have made amends moments later, when Scott Tanser’s cross found him free in the box,but a scuffed connection allowed Jack Butland to easily grab.

Fair play to St Mirren for responding effectively after falling behind, but their finishing continued to let them down.

They had another good opportunity to respond when Greg Kiltie’s cross was only headed as far as Hyeokkyu Kwon by John Souttar’s ineffective clearing.

However, the on-loan Parkhead midfielder sent his shot over the crossbar, allowing Gers to escape once more.

Rangers came millimeters away from doubling their lead when

skipper James Tavernier hammered a 25-yard shot off the base of Zach Hemming’s right-hand post.

Clement was plainly dissatisfied with his team’s performance and made two changes at halftime,

replacing Todd Cantwell and Scott Wright with Tom Lawrence and Ross McCausland, respectively.

The introduction of the pair provided a temporary spark for Clement, who nearly scored again nine minutes into the second period.

Lawrence led the charge into the middle, eventually finding Dessers,

whose twist and turn on the box’s edge resulted in another shot that hit the woodwork.

However, the action quickly returned to the arm wrestling that had occurred in the first half, with the teams competing for loose ball after loose ball.

Rangers would have relished a second goal to relieve the mounting stress.

But there were blue hearts in lips with five minutes left as Saints debutant James Scott’s cross found the unmarked Alex Gogic.

But before the Cypriot international could pull the trigger, Souttar sprang out of nowhere to save his team with a crucial block.

Clement’s squad was still in danger, and the subsequent corner saw Bolton rattle the crossbar with a back-post header.

Here are three talking points from Paisley.

Dessers delights again.

Just last weekend, the Rangers fans were left grumbling as the misfiring forward put on another sloppy showing in front of goal at Dumbarton.

He scored his goal in the Scottish Cup triumph, but only after sending three balls into the parking lot beneath the Rock. But the enigma that is the Nigeria international is,

he’s responded since with two cracking finishes to help Gers claim a couple of hugely significant results.

He was the calmest man in the capital on Wednesday night, finishing nonchalantly to seal a victory over Hibs at Easter Road.

Paisley again demonstrated cool composure, as the much-maligned frontman rounded Zach Hemmings to score a clean goal.

He would have had another against Stephen Robinson’s squad, but his attempt rebounded off the post early in the second half.

It’s now 12 goals for the season, which is a decent return for a guy who most supporters were ready to write off after a poor start.

Philippe Clement clearly has to bring in a more consistent striker before the window ends.

Cantwell’s concern

Todd Cantwell had to be removed at halftime during the midweek triumph in Leith because Clement didn’t want to risk a strained thigh.

And he was off again at halftime in Paisley, but this time it appeared he was suffering the price for a lackluster performance.

The former Norwich player is undeniably talented. However, on days like this, when the conditions do not lend itself to beautiful play, he can appear disoriented, as was the case this time.

Mark O’Hara was all over him like a rash whenever he got a touch of the ball, and with the thick pitch sapping legs,

Clement decided to retain him inside at halftime alongside Scott Wright. Nico Raskin was fortunate to return for the second half after a similarly dismal performance.

He was finally replaced by Ryan Jack on the hour mark, and the Belgian midfielder will need to raise his game if he wants to keep the Scotland international out of the team.

Kwon dilemma.

On-loan Celtic ace Hyeokkyu Kwon has been loaned out to Paisley in order to demonstrate his ability to adapt to Scottish culture.

However, based on his performance against the Gers, he should not expect to be invited back into Brendan Rodgers’ team.

The 22-year-old South Korean youth international is one of the project acquisitions that has so irritated Hoops fans this season.

After a disappointing first six months in Glasgow, the Parkhead club signed him from Busan IPark in the Korean second division in the hopes that he would eventually blossom at St Mirren.

But he failed to make an impression on the Gers after squandering a golden opportunity to equalise 20 minutes in.

All he needed to do was  keep his head down as John Souttar’s clearance dropped at his feet but he leant back and blazed over.

Kwon did test Jack Butland later in the half but it was a routine save for the Gers keeper and he could have no complaints when he was replaced with 20 minutes left.

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