Rangers had captain James Tavernier to thank after the Ibrox skipper scored a wonder goal to seal a 2-1 win over St. Johnstone at McDiarmid Park and spare the Light Blues’ blushes.
After falling behind to a goal from ex-Rangers winger Michael O’Halloran, the champions pulled level through a Kemar Roofe penalty before Tav’s fantastic strike from distance sealed the three points.
There was a shock before the game for Rangers fans as the Light Blues lined up without Connor Goldson for the first time in 81 games, a run that has saw the former Brighton star play every single minute of every single game.
There was also a blow as Fil Helander was stretchered off shortly before Tavernier scored, appearing to injure his knee challenging O’Halloran and now looking a serious doubt for Thursday’s Europa League clash with Lyon.
While the performance was one that Rangers won’t want to spend too much time dwelling on, Tavernier’s goal was a thing of beauty as the Ibrox talisman set himself up to curl the ball over Zander Clark and into the back of the net.
The strike was Tavernier’s 66th as a Rangers player, taking him to 66 goals and 94 assists in 296 games.
Watch Tavernier’s stunning effort below (via Sky Sports):
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