Rangers Seek to Close Gap in Title Race Against St Mirren
Rangers sense an opening. Now they have to take it.
Last weekend broke their way twice. First, Ryan Naderi’s late winner against Aberdeen punched their ticket to the Premier Sports Cup final. Then, 24 hours later, Celtic slipped in Falkirk, the leaders’ defeat dragging the title race a little closer, a little sharper.
The equation is simple enough. Win at St Mirren on Saturday night and Rangers can close the gap at the top to a single point before Celtic welcome Kilmarnock on Sunday. But nothing about this fixture feels simple.
Rangers under the lights, again
The last time Rangers filled the Saturday 20:00 slot, they stumbled. Two points dropped away to Dundee still linger in the memory and serve as a timely reminder of what can happen when focus dips even slightly.
St Mirren’s recent form in Paisley underlines the danger. A draw with Hibernian and a win over an in-form Dundee side have turned the SMiSA Stadium into a far less welcoming venue than the league table alone might suggest. The Buddies sit eighth, but that only tells part of the story. They are within touching distance of the top six and have already shown they can unsettle the big two: they led Celtic in a Saturday night encounter in early September before eventually going down 2-1.
Rangers have already felt their resistance this season. Craig McLeish’s side may have just one win in eight, yet they pushed the Ibrox club hard in Glasgow, with only a late Bojan Miovski goal separating the teams. That narrow margin will not have been forgotten in either dressing room.
Derek McInnes takes his side into this one on an 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions. The momentum is real. So is the pressure. Reduce the deficit to Celtic and the title race tightens. Slip again under the floodlights and the narrative changes quickly.
An intriguing night in Paisley awaits.
Hibs and Aberdeen chasing a spark
Hibernian’s midweek story was one of relief and release. Trailing Hearts in the League Cup semi-final, they turned the tie on its head to win 2-1, snapping a seven-game winless run and booking a return to Hampden, where Rangers await in mid-December.
Cup joy, league concern. Under new Dutch coach Marink Reedijk, Hibs have taken just one point from a possible 12 and sit bottom of the Premiership after 11 games. The job now is obvious: transfer that Hampden defiance into the bread-and-butter of the league before the season’s shape hardens around them.
Aberdeen, their hosts on Saturday evening, are hardly in rude health themselves. Two straight league defeats preceded their semi-final loss to Rangers, leaving Stephen Robinson’s side third from bottom, three points ahead of Hibs. The margins are thin, the stakes anything but.
The sides drew 1-1 at Easter Road only last month, a result that underlined how little there is between them. It might be early to label this a crisis clash, but both clubs know the danger of drifting. Hibs can still finish the year with silverware; Aberdeen still talk of top-six ambitions. Neither can afford to keep looking up the table from this distance.
Mid-table traffic and Tayside tension
The Premiership’s middle pack barely shifted last weekend. A cluster of clubs continues to jostle without breaking free, and this Saturday threatens a similar logjam.
Dundee United host Motherwell, while St Johnstone face Dundee in a Tayside derby, both kicking off at 15:00 GMT. Each game carries the feel of a hinge point rather than a routine fixture.
Motherwell finally ended their long wait for a win by beating St Mirren at Fir Park last weekend, a result that eased nerves and stiffened belief. Their 3-0 victory over United back in early September remains their biggest league win of the season, though that afternoon was skewed by United playing most of the match with 10 men.
Across the road, Dundee and St Johnstone both come into the derby with recent drama fresh in the mind. St Johnstone, down to 10 men, twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Kilmarnock last weekend, a show of resilience that will have pleased their support as much as the point itself. Dundee, who had the weekend off, will still remember thinking they had three points in the bag against Saints at Dens earlier in the campaign, only for an even later equaliser to snatch them away.
With Dundee one point behind Falkirk and United a further point back, both Tayside clubs have the chance to leapfrog the Bairns before they meet Hearts on Sunday. In a table this tight, those small moves can quickly become big ones.
Europe’s toll and Sunday’s double act
Celtic and Hearts return to domestic duty on Sunday carrying very different European aftershocks.
At Tynecastle, Hearts were beaten 3-1 by Thun in Switzerland, a result that extended a difficult run for Wouter Vrancken. His side have just one win in seven and travelled with 10 first-team players missing. The international break cannot come soon enough, but first they must deal with an in-form Falkirk side chasing a fifth straight league victory.
Falkirk’s first league win of the season came at home to Hearts in mid-September. Since then, they have barely looked back. Their confidence contrasts sharply with a Hearts squad stretched and searching for rhythm.
By the time Hearts and Falkirk reach half-time, Celtic will be preparing to kick off against Kilmarnock. Brendan Rodgers’ team responded to the Falkirk defeat with a rousing 3-2 win over Besiktas in the Europa League, a performance that steadied the mood and showcased their attacking options.
Kasper Hogh remains a curiosity in this Celtic side. All three of his goals for the club so far came in a single game, a 5-1 win at Rugby Park in August. Since then, it has been fellow summer signing Camilo Duran doing most of the damage in front of goal, including a sharp double against Besiktas that underlined his growing importance.
Whoever leads the line, second-bottom Kilmarnock face a daunting assignment. One win in six tells its own story, and the champions rarely show mercy at home to sides in that kind of form.
By Sunday night, the top of the Premiership could feel very different. Rangers may have sliced Celtic’s lead to a point, or handed their rivals the chance to stretch away again. Hearts might be dragged deeper into trouble or claw their way back towards safety. Falkirk could announce themselves as genuine contenders for more than just mid-table comfort.
The season is still young, but weekends like this have a habit of echoing into spring.
