Rangers claimed an important 2-1 win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Saturday.
Star man Nikica Jelavic hit both goals for the Scottish Premier League title-chasers and defending champions, but a Carlos Bocanegra own goal had for a while threatened that victory. St Johnstone also had an early Marcus Haber goal disallowed.
Steve Lomas’ side started brightly, with Francisco Sandaza - who is believed to be about to sign a pre-contract deal with Rangers – looking sharp, and he was involved when the hosts thought they had broken the deadlock 13 minutes in.
The Spaniard slipped a lovely through ball into Canadian Haber’s path, but he had just strayed offside before rifling it beyond stand-in Gers stopper Neil Alexander.
Ally McCoist’s men were relatively slow to get going, but forward David Healy showed how much of a threat he can be when dragging a low shot just across Peter Enckelman’s goal and wide near the midway point of the first half.
Soon after, his side were in front. Steven Davis played a quick free-kick into the path of Sone Aluko and he made ground before seeing a shot deflected into Jelavic’s path, from where the Croatia international prodded to the net from close range.
Lomas raged at the officials as he felt Rangers had taken the free-kick from the wrong place, but the former Northern Ireland international was not appeased.
His goalkeeper did deny Healy with ease and Jelavic with more difficulty before the break, but the Perth outfit remained a goal in arrears as half-time was sounded.
As Rangers chased a second goal early in the second half, St Johnstone’s Jody Morris had to get his body in the way of a Davis effort, before Dorin Goian’s header from a Davis corner was cleared off the line by David Robertson.
However, a two-goal cushion would not come and Lomas’ mne made the visitors pay in the 68th minute by dragging themselves level – aided admittedly by one of the Gers’ defenders. Liam Craig was the goal’s architect. He found space for a cross and picked out Haber, whose header back across goal hit against Bocanegra and deceived the floundering Alexander as it made its way over his line.
The home side then came close to taking the lead but, from Sandaza’s layoff, Robertson blasted his shot just wide of Alexander's right-hand post.
Rangers went back up the other end, with Enckleman getting his fingers to Healy’s turn and shot after industrious set-up play from Aluko. Lee Wallace looked to threaten for the rebound, but the ball was hoofed to safety by Dave Mackay.
However, no St Johnstone player proved as heroic when Rangers retook the lead nine minutes from the end. Aluko was again involved, with his cross headed against his own bar by the Saints’ Murray Davidson. Enckleman looked like he might have gotten a slight touch to the rebounding ball, but it fell for Jelavic to drive home for 2-1 and three crucial points in the battle with Celtic.