Rangers vs St Mirren; Scottish Premiership
Rangers vs St Mirren. Scottish Premiership.
Ibrox StadiumAttendance50,526.
Rangers 2-1 St Mirren: Danny Röhl's side close gap at top of Scottish Premiership after Celtic slip up
Report as Rangers pulled within three points of Celtic after beating St Mirren 2-1; goals from Thelo Aasgaard and Emmanuel Fernandez secured victory; Marcus Fraser missed a penalty in the second half
Tuesday 30 December 2025 23:18, UK
Rangers closed the gap to second-placed Celtic after beating St Mirren 2-1 at Ibrox, although still remain six points adrift of Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts.
The Gers were winless in their last four league meetings with stubborn St Mirren, but looked to be making light work of the latest contest, scoring either side of the break via a couple of well-worked set-pieces.
Thelo Aasgaard nodded the opener from Jayden Meghoma's teasing delivery after a corner before Youssef Chermiti teed up Emmanuel Fernandez to slot beneath Shamal George from another corner routine.
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Rangers were in complete control until referee Ryan Lee offered St Mirren a lifeline by penalising Fernandez for an unavoidable handball after being sent to the pitchside monitor by VAR.
The decision was harsh and perhaps justice was done after Marcus Fraser was denied by Jack Butland from the resulting spot-kick - but belief among the visitors was briefly back.
Mikael Mandron then halved the deficit as momentum swung the way of Stephen Robinson's side, with St Mirren pressurising but ultimately unable to capitalise, missing three of their four big chances to draw level. Butland was needed more than once.
Rangers move within three points of Celtic - who slipped up at Motherwell - in the race to catch Hearts at the top, as St Mirren continue to compete at the other end of the table down in 10th. Celtic and Rangers clash in the Old Firm derby on January 3, live on Sky Sports.
Röhl happy with progress after reigniting title race
Rangers boss Danny Röhl:
"I'm happy, it's difficult to play against St Mirren. Fully deserved win, we played 75 minutes fantastic football. Youssef Chermiti made a fantastic performance and the fans recognised that.
"We hope in 2026 we can continue our points and our wins. We've worked very hard and we still need to improve. We will see what we can do in January too. If with the board we can make a good January then we can make a good future. We have prepared for January and speak regularly about this."
On the title race: "When I took over it was 14 or 15 points, now we close to the gap to six points but there's still a long way to go. All in all, I'm happy and the players should be too."
Robinson: Poor set plays cost us
St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson:
"The second half we were exceptionally good. Numerous opportunities, missed penalty, two cleared off the line.
"Jack Butland was man of the match. We gave Rangers far too much respect in the first half. Disappointing to concede from two second phase set plays.
"We didn't deserve anything else because of our defending at the two set plays but I'm sure a lot of people watching might say we were worth a point."
