Rangers closed the gap on second-placed Celtic after beating St Mirren 2-1 at Ibrox, but remain six points behind Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts.

The Gers are winless in their last four league games against stubborn St Mirren but have looked comfortable in recent games, scoring on either side’s breaks from several well-choreographed set pieces.

Thelo Aasgaard nodded in a challenging shot from Jayden Meghoma’s corner before Youssef Chermiti put Emmanuel Fernandez underneath Shamal George for another corner routine.

Rangers were in complete control until referee Ryan Lee handed St Mirren a lifeline when he penalized Fernandes for an unavoidable handball after being sent to the pitchside monitor by VAR.

The decision was harsh and perhaps justice was served after Marcus Fraser’s penalty was saved by Jack Butland – but the visitors’ confidence briefly returned.

Stephen Robinson’s side then lost momentum and Mikael Mandron halved the deficit as St Mirren pressed but ultimately failed to capitalize, missing three of four great chances to equalize. Butland was needed more than once.

Rangers are within three points of Celtic – who lost at Motherwell – as they chase Hearts, while St Mirren continue to compete at the other end of the table in 10th place. Celtic and Rangers face off in the Old Firm Derby on January 3, live sky sports.

Saturday, January 3, 11:30 a.m.

Starts at 12:30 noon

Rohr pleased with progress in reigniting title race

rangers boss Danny Rohr:

“I’m very happy, it was a difficult game against St Mirren. The win was well deserved and we played 75 minutes of fantastic football. Yusef Cermiti did a great job and the fans recognized it.”

“We hope that in 2026 we can continue our points and wins. We have worked very hard but we still need to improve. We will also see what we can do in January. If together with the board we can create a good January, then we can create a good future. We are ready for January and talk about it regularly.”

About the title race: “When I took over, it was 14 or 15 points and now we’re close 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: Bad game cost us

st mirren manager Stephen Robinson:

“We played really well in the second half. Lots of chances, missed penalties, two clearances.

“Jack Butland was man of the match. We gave Rangers so much respect in the first half. Conceding goals twice in the second period was disappointing.

“We didn’t deserve anything else because of our defense in both sets, but I’m sure a lot of people watching the game would probably say we deserved a point.”

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