Rangers have a shout of a treble yell
The other Saints stand in the way of League Cup glory
In a snow storm, wearing white can add a level of camouflage but it was not as if Rangers had to use covert measures to beat St Johnstone. From the off, the Ibrox club were in control and Novo really should have opened the scoring but a good block on the line kept the game scoreless.
St Johnstone were holding the ball up front well, on loan Celtic striker Cilian Sheridan had an impressive touch on a tricky surface but their play lacked bite. Rangers looked far more dangerous and although Steve Davis failed to convert, the Northern Irish internationalist broke the deadlock minutes later.
A mix-up from the St Johnstone backline gave the midfielder the chance to volley home from a yard and from that point, it was hard to see past Rangers.
A 2-0 lead was secured by half-time when Lee McCulloch netted from outside the box. Graeme Smith in goals really should have done better but the margin was probably a fair reflection on chances created.
The second half never really got going until Rangers made a few subs which injected some life into the match, with Stevie Naismith at the centre of everything. Around the hour mark, Naismith was bundled over by Gary Irvine but the former Killie man hit a weak penalty, allowing Smith to palm away.
Rangers could have had another penalty later when Naismith again appeared to be pushed over but the player managed to flick the ball towards John Fleck, only to see the ball cleared for a corner.
Apart from ref Dougie McDonald being hit in the midriff with the ball – if it happened at school, the cries of “STINGER” would still be rolling around now – the game petered out and Rangers safely booked their passage to another final.
It is St Mirren versus Rangers in the League Cup final.
Is it yet another trophy for the Teds or can the Buddies cause an upset?
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As I sat in a queue of traffic snaking our way to Hampden on a cold snowy February night with the game on ‘council telly’ I started to question my sanity, far less my commitment as a supporter. I also paid £18 for the privileged of making the trek to our national stadium. I won’t comment on the game as you have managed to ‘flower’ it up better than I could of to be honest. What I will say though is why wasn’t the game played at Easter Road or Tynecastle? Sometimes the authorities baffle me.
At least there’s a final to look forward to and the perennial request from the smaller team to receive more tickets.
I used to attend college with a ‘Buddie’ who arraogantly dismissed Celtic and Rangers supporters as “Nothing but gloryhunters’. I took him to task and asked him where are the 30,000 or so supporters of ‘the family club’ (absolute bullshit-bunch of racist dawgs) who attended the ’87 SC final are these days? That soon shut him up.
What is St Mirren’s average home gate? 5-6000? I wonder how many Paisley Panda ‘gloryhunters’ will be looking for a wee day out in their hated Glasgow next month?
Rant over. What the Dickens am I doing posting on a Rangers thread?
I don’t mind the St Mirren fans getting a few more thousand on top of their average home gate, indeed I would suggest that 10,000 would be more than suffice for this match.
I bet they ask for at least double that.
Well, Chick Young is a Saint Mirren fan again, so the numbers are on the up.
I know that all fans deserve their day but when Celtic and Rangers have at least 30,000+ season ticket holders (we’ll stick with that figure to be safe for this season) and all of them could not be guaranteed a ticket if they all wanted one, yet the one game a decade punter of a smaller team can get his whole family tickets, is that right?
yes, Celtic adn rangers fans carry baggage and it is easy to see why they are disliked by some/many but they get absolutely fleeced at every turn in Scotland and there is not a bit of sympathy for them…which is very wrong.
Good for you Quagmire, it would have been easy to have stayed at home – hope you get a ticket for the final no problem.
I’ll get my ticket ok as I’m part of the continuous credit card scheme. By selecting this at season ticket renewal time, it guarantees you tickets for all non SPL games played at Ibrox and as a result, tickets for all semi’s and finals. Got my Uefa Cup Final ticket this way also.
As for Chick Young, just who does he actually support these days? It used to be rumoured that he was a Rangers man, but let me tell you in recent years the wee scrote has been no friend to Rangers. His late son (sadly died in a motorbike accident) was an avid Celtic fan I believe.
As a journalist, he is nothing short of laughable.
He stated that he was originally a Hearts fan in some article a year or two back….but no doubt that was attention grabbing…it was worded in a way that it would indicate he was outing himself as a Rangers man and then supplied a dramatic twist.
Sadly for Chick, it is impossible to tell where he ends and the Jonathan Watson character begins these days.
One of our writers had friends in Renfrew who were pals of Chick Young’s son – a tragic incident for any parent to contend – the friends were cut up about it for quite a considerable time as well.