St Mirren 0-1 Rangers: Win the 'most important thing' for Philippe Clement as visitors edge out wasteful hosts
- Published
Cyriel Dessers' 12th goal of the season earned Rangers a third away win in the space of a week
Winning was "the most important thing" for manager Philippe Clement as Cyriel Dessers' third goal in three games ensured Rangers edged out wasteful St Mirren in a narrow Scottish Premiership victory.
The Nigeria striker opened the scoring in Paisley with his 12th strike of the season after meeting John Lundstram's searching ball over the top and rounding a hesitant Zach Hemming.
But, between efforts from on-loan Celtic midfielder Kwon Hyeok-kyu, Elvis Bwomono and Lewis Jamieson, the hosts should have found a leveller before the break.
Clement's side delivered a more controlled second-half display but failed to add to their tally as Dessers was denied by the right-hand post shortly after substitute Tom Lawrence had drilled just wide.
St Mirren, who remain fifth, struggled to create anything following the interval until Alex Gogic's late close-range shot was crucially blocked by the impressive John Souttar before Luke Bolton headed off the woodwork from the resulting corner.
"I'm very satisfied," said Clement, whose side remain five points adrift of Celtic having played a game fewer.
"With a team that can only play in one way or certain circumstances, they will never win trophies. You need resilience, mentality, desire, hunger, focus.
"We're only busy with one thing, that's winning games and showing we can do it in this way. The most important thing is the three points."
Player of the match - John Souttar
The Scotland centre-back followed up Wednesday's solid display at Easter Road with a superb showing in Paisley, winning 10 of his 11 aerial duels and making three interceptions
Result the priority for under-par Rangers - analysis
Far from vintage from Rangers - just two shots on target, both of which came in the first half.
But three wins from three games on the road in the space of a week will be the big takeaway for Clement, whose side are turning up the heat on their city rivals.
The manager's decision to stick with Souttar over Leon Balogun after the return of the suspended Connor Goldson paid off, with the Scotland defender delivering a flawless performance.
But the Belgian will surely want to be reinforced at the other end by the time the transfer window shuts next week. Despite Dessers' upturn in form, full-back Dujon Sterling starting on the left of his attack stresses the lack of options Clement has.
On another day, this could have been a point for St Mirren, who look to have the makings of a strong midfield pairing in captain Mark O'Hara and January signing Kwon.
A lack of ruthlessness means the Paisley side have now only won four league games in four months. However, they still remain in the hunt for a European place despite a sketchy run of form.
What they said
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "Overriding emotion is frustration. I can't ask much more in terms of application. We showed good quality when we won the ball, we didn't panic.
"Ultimately a super goal beat us. We still had the belief to keep going. I don't take pleasure from losing games but I take positives from the performance."
Rangers manager Philippe Clement: "It's really hard to win games like this. It's a pity for football and for the fans to play in circumstances like this on a pitch like that.
"The team adapted. I'm only busy with my team and winning games. If you look at others you forget yourself."
What's next?
Both sides return to Premiership action next Saturday (15:00 GMT) as Rangers host Livingston while St Mirren go to Hibernian.