Rangers 2-0 Ross County: Steven Gerrard's side bounce back with win
- Published
Highlights: Rangers 2-0 Ross County
Rangers bounced back from defeat at Tynecastle on Sunday by beating Ross County to remain five points behind Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic.
Goals in either half by Jermain Defoe and Scott Arfield sealed the points for Steven Gerrard's side, who have a game in hand over their city rivals.
Defoe's sharp turn and finished opened the scoring just before the break, and his pass allowed Arfield to prod in.
However, the veteran English striker was later carried off with an injury.
Alfredo Morelos did make his first appearance for the club since December after serving a three-game ban following his sending off at Celtic Park late last year.
County, meanwhile, remain ninth - five points off the bottom - after their winless run was extended to seven matches in all competitions.
Defoe makes short work of County
After Sunday's shock 2-1 defeat at Hearts, Gerrard would have expected and demanded an instant reaction against County.
Ryan Kent took it upon himself to do just that in the ninth minute, when he darted down the left and skipped past his marker and into the box before firing a left-footed shot at goal. It would have been a superb opener, if not for Nathan Baxter's strong save to parry it wide.
Kent's directness should have galvanised Rangers but instead Gerrard's side were blunt in attack and spent much of the opening period threatening from distance.
Sheyi Ojo - drafted in to replace Joe Aribo - jinked inside from the right in the 16th minute and fired towards goal with a left-foot shot. However it sailed wide of the far post.
Fifteen minutes later, after a free-kick and stramash in the box, Arfield made his own attempt with a half-volley from the edge of the area but it, too, went wide of the mark, via a deflection.
The half looked destined to end without a goal, until Defoe latched on to a knock-on from Arfield. The striker controlled the ball and, with a crowd of County defenders around him, spun and fired the ball through a sea of bodies.
Some might have expected to see Morelos introduced after a drab first half, but the Colombian began the second half on the bench and in his place Defoe continued to trouble the County defence.
Just two minutes after the restart, the 37-year-old flicked a pass from Ojo into the path of the on-rushing Arfield, who toe-poked the ball home to double Rangers' lead.
Defoe had his 17th goal and his first assist of the season but, 12 minutes later, the Rangers forward pulled up after chasing a through ball, forcing Gerrard to bring on Aribo in his place.
The home side tried to find a fresh spark with the introduction of Morelos and Jordan Jones, but the job was already done against a County side that rarely ventured beyond the half-way line.
The Colombian did try to add to his 28 goals for the season with a smart chipped shot after noticing Baxter off his line. He also came close after a clever one-two with Arfield but was blocked by his marker.
'The flick was magical' - reaction
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard: "His first goal is outstanding. It's typical Defoe, swirling in the box and getting that important breakthrough for us. Then the flick for the second goal is magical.
"So that makes it even more disappointing that you see him go off on a stretcher."
Ross County co-manager Stuart Kettlewell: "It's obviously tough. We knew it was going to be difficult coming here off the back of the effort we put in at Parkhead on Saturday. We can't be too negative.
"We're staying down in Glasgow for the next couple of days to limit the travelling and probably the fight we were looking for would be against Kilmarnock and we have to put all our emphasis into that now."