Rangers ridicule and revelation in equal measure as one player continues to be an enigma

Rangers reaching the last eight of the League Cup? No, although they did, half-time substitute Cyriel Dessers showing his profligate team-mates how to finish just before the hour mark when he slammed a controversial opener past Josh Rae. Fellow sub Ross McCausland dinked in a superb second in time added on.

The moment that prompted smiles, even amongst some Rangers fans, was when their St Johnstone counterparts took the opportunity to strike up that age-old chorus that's been directed at them often enough. “What a shitey home support!” they bellowed about 13 minutes into a match played out in front of acres of empty seats. Rangers didn’t give the official attendance, which said it all.

Also revealing was the love-in that took place afterwards. Manager Philippe Clement joined his players as they took the applause from the fans amid some trying times for the club. It’s clear a reconnection between fans and team is required even at this early stage and neither party were too ashamed to stage such a bonding event here, after a deserved if not completely straightforward victory over St Johnstone. Clement later revealed that saluting these fans had been a pre-planned arrangement, although one presumably hinging on victory.

Craig Levein was not happy on his return to Hampden Park. He was vexed – to put it mildly - over Dessers’ goal, which was chopped off in the first instance by referee Matthew McDermid for a foul on Jack Sanders and then restored following a VAR check.

Levein revealed there had been a 20-minute inquest in the away dressing room over what had happened, with some players claiming the referee whistled for a foul before Dessers rifled past Rae. What wasn’t up for debate was the ferocity of the finish and it didn’t look as if the ‘keeper was one of those who had stopped. The SFA later issued a statement backing McDermid, who they say did not blow his whistle for a foul until after the goal.

Hampden in the drizzle is not an appealing prospect at the best of times. Pre-match predictions about the dire attendance were not far from the mark. A generous estimate would be around 18,000.

This was a game where Rangers knew they would need to lift themselves. A combination of defeat in the Champions League third qualifying round against Dynamo Kyiv and dismay at the running of their club meant 'home' supporters needed little excuse to give this match a miss. Even a protest that had been reportedly planned for before the match didn’t go ahead, which pretty much sums up the level of apathy surrounding the club at present.

This result will help. And if Rabbi Matondo could finish the simple chances then it would have been far more convincing. The winger is another Rangers enigma. He can pull off the spectacular but asked to hit the net from a few yards out with the keeper rooted to his spot it’s a different story. He will know he should have scored one, probably twice, here. He wasn’t alone.

Jefte filled in at left back following Ridvan Yilmaz’s injury with Matondo, one of five changes to the midweek XI, in front of him. The personnel switch provoking most comment was Danilo coming in for his first start since last December, when he suffered a serious knee injury against Hearts. His lack of action despite featuring on the bench in the previous four games had started to be questioned, with Clement having promised he would get some minutes here. Well, the Brazilian got 45 of them. It’s understandable that he will need some more to get up to speed.

Even in this short time, he should have claimed at least a couple of goals. He blazed over from Jefte cutback and could not make the most of a chance after Mohammed Diomande’s shot was saved by Josh Rae. The striker’s last act was to head another good chance past the upright.

He didn’t reappear after the interval. Teammate Robin Propper didn’t even make it as far as half-time. The Dutch defender limped off while clutching the top of his thigh after 43 minutes and was replaced by Ben Davies. Whether or not Propper is another injury headache for Rangers to navigate remains to be seen. Clement did not sound overly concerned afterwards. 

The manager did claim that Rangers ought to have won 5-1, which maybe wasn’t too far from the truth. The goal he deigned to hand St Johnstone would have been scored by either Adama Sidibeh or Benjamin Kimpioka, their live wire forwards. Sidibeh did in fact crack a shot against a post in the first half from Matt Smith’s cross.