Rangers Secure Late Victory Over St Mirren
Bojan Miovski waited, watched, and then, with one deft touch, ripped the roof off Ibrox.
Deep into stoppage time, after 90 minutes that had often felt like hard labour, the Rangers substitute darted onto Ryan Naderi’s flick from Ivor Pandur’s booming clearance and, with the calm of a training-ground drill, lifted the ball over Zach Hemming Chapman. A cute dink, a ruthless finish, and a 1-0 win that felt far bigger than a single goal.
Ibrox exploded. St Mirren sank.
Rangers leave it late – again
This was not a swaggering, free-flowing Rangers performance. Derek McInnes admitted as much. But it was another victory, a fourth straight in the Scottish Premiership and six in seven in all competitions, and it nudged his side above St Mirren into second place.
They did it without their captain and focal point, Lawrence Shankland, ruled out through injury. Naderi was handed the start in his place, asked to lead the line and stretch a St Mirren defence that arrived organised, disciplined and in no mood to play the part of willing victims.
For an hour, Rangers looked like they had cracked it. They moved the ball with purpose, pressed with aggression and carved out chances that should have buried the contest long before Miovski’s intervention.
On 17 minutes, Nicolas Raskin thought he had scored. He met a teasing cross from Badredine Bouanani with a firm header, only for Chapman to spring to his right and claw the ball away. It set the tone for the St Mirren goalkeeper’s night.
Five minutes later, Chapman went one better. First he got down sharply to parry a low strike from Mohamed Gassama on the edge of the box. As the ball squirmed loose, Bouanani pounced, certain he would sweep in the rebound. Chapman smothered that too. Two saves in seconds, both outstanding, and Rangers’ frustration started to simmer.
McInnes’ side kept coming. They dominated territory, penned St Mirren back, and yet the longer it stayed goalless, the more the anxiety crept into the stands and onto the pitch. The crisp passing of the first half hour gave way to rushed decisions and loose touches. McInnes later called it “20 to 25 minutes of so many bad decisions”. He wasn’t exaggerating.
St Mirren’s big chance goes begging
For all Rangers’ pressure, St Mirren carved out the moment of the match before the winner. And they will replay it in their heads for days.
On 66 minutes, Fraser Taylor broke clear. One-on-one with Pandur, time to steady himself, time to pick a corner. It was the chance. Taylor went for precision, but his effort was too close to the Rangers goalkeeper, who stood tall and made the save look far more routine than it was.
Craig McLeish knew. His reaction on the touchline told the story. St Mirren had soaked up wave after wave, defended with real steel, and then, when the game finally opened up for them, they let Rangers off the hook.
McLeish’s side never stopped competing. They pressed when they could, dropped into shape when they had to, and their manager was right to call them “monsters” out of possession. But that Taylor miss hung over the closing stages like a storm cloud.
Miovski delivers the punchline
As the clock ticked into stoppage time, it felt as if the story had already been written: St Mirren’s resilience rewarded with a point, Rangers left to rue their wastefulness and that ragged spell in the second half.
Then Pandur launched long.
Naderi rose and glanced the ball on. Miovski, timing his run perfectly, was suddenly clear. Chapman charged out, trying to close the angle, but the North Macedonian forward never blinked. One touch, one delicate lift, and the ball arced over the keeper and dropped into the net.
No power. Just nerve.
McInnes spoke afterwards of Miovski’s “lovely, calm finish when we needed calmness and quality.” It summed up the moment. In a frantic game, the coolest head on the pitch decided it.
Managers see the same game, from different ends
McInnes’ relief was obvious. He praised his players’ “perseverance and sheer will to keep going,” pointing to the late winner as proof of their fitness and character. He also didn’t hide from the imperfections, stressing the need to turn these scrap-and-scramble wins into something more controlled.
“Four wins out of four; I think it’s six out of seven,” he said. “We’re making good steps but we’d like to be able to win a bit more comfortably and at more ease.”
McLeish, standing on the other side of the fine margins, refused to wallow. He lauded Chapman’s saves, the bravery of his players, and Taylor’s overall performance despite the miss that will sting.
“It felt like we deserved at least a point but you don’t always get what you deserve,” he said. “We played like monsters tonight.”
He was adamant this defeat cannot define St Mirren’s season. Nor should it. Perform like this, away at Ibrox, and points will come.
Celtic double-header looms
For Rangers, the timing of this surge matters. Momentum is building just as the season sharpens.
Next up is a huge double-header against Celtic: first a League Cup quarter-final, then a Premiership showdown at Parkhead. The stakes, already high, rise with every win. McInnes wants cleaner performances, fewer nervy finales, but he now has a team that believes it can find a way in the 91st minute.
Miovski’s dink did more than beat St Mirren. It sent Rangers into that Celtic run with their chests out and the table tilted in their favour.
The question now is simple: can this habit of late, ugly, vital wins carry them through the biggest tests of all?
