By Alistair Aird

In my reflective account of last week’s match against Hibernian, I concluded by saying that we had to stay grounded, despite the emphatic victory. There were undoubtedly positives to take from the match, but as Rangers supporters, we had been here too often in recent years. But events since then have given us all that wee buzz again. And as they say, hope springs eternal.

The first boost was Thursday’s draw in Prague. It’s true we took a pummelling in the opening half as we tried to adjust to an unfamiliar ‘structure’ that saw us play three at the back. Once again, we were indebted to Jack Butland for keeping the opposition at bay, but in the second half, Rangers grew into the game and we were desperately unlucky not to claim all three points when the impressive Danilo struck the crossbar late on.

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And then there was an unexpected stumble by the league leaders. On Saturday, Celtic blinked at Easter Road, drawing 0-0. Suddenly, it was in Rangers’ hands to cut the gap to five points and in the process revive and reinvigorate a title race some had suggested was all but over a few weeks ago. The players and management team shouldn’t need any extra incentive to go out at Ibrox and win a game of football, but if they did, then surely this was it.

Shorn of options at left back on Thursday, Clement had had to deviate from his preferred ‘structure’, but Rangers lined up along more familiar lines ahead of this one. There was only one change in fact – the introduction of Ridvan Yilmaz for John Souttar – and it was 4-2-3-1, with Lundstram and Raskin anchoring the midfield. There was a first Premier League start since early September for Todd Cantwell too, and he was joined in the trio behind Cyriel Dessers by the in-from Abdallah Sima and the much-lamented Sam Lammers. The Dutchman seems shorn of confidence at the moment, but Clement obviously felt he merited starting a match for a third time under his stewardship.

The kick off was preceded by an impeccably observed minute’s silence to pay tribute to the service men and women who have given their lives in the line of duty over the years. Lest We Forget.

When the action got underway, it was the visitors who made the breakthrough inside five minutes. Lawrence Shankland, so often linked with a move to Rangers, towered above Yilmaz and even the in-form Butland wasn’t keeping his header out. This wasn’t in the script, and for the third time this season, the home side faced a deficit in a league match at Ibrox. Nobody needed reminded that on the previous two occasions, Rangers had lost the match.

But after a spell of huffing, puffing, and passing poorly, Rangers were almost level. Lammers found some space and dinked the ball over the top for Dessers. The Nigerian controlled the pass and rolled an inviting ball across the six-yard box, but Cantwell couldn’t get on the end of it.

Odel Offiah was the first player to be booked when he scythed down Sima, but Tavernier’s delivery fell into the ‘woeful’ category. The persistence with the captain taking the majority of set plays may well be something that is on Clement’s list of priorities to address. There is no doubt Tavernier has the ability to deliver deliciously – we would be grateful for that later in the game – but there needs to be some sort of variety too.

The opening 20 minutes could be best summed up as ragged, and when Goldson carelessly conceded a corner, you could feel the anxiety levels rising. This type of performance was simply fuelling the argument that this Rangers squad don’t have the mentality or the bottle to succeed. Would that continue and in so doing see the Light Blues pass up another golden opportunity to stake a claim for the league title? Or would this group of players show they had what it took to stand up and be counted?

After 25 minutes, Dessers took a fresh air swipe at a cut back from Sima. Rangers had had no shots on target in that opening spell, but when they did register one, they almost restored parity. Tavernier’s corner was knocked towards goal by Goldson, and a sliding Dessers looked to have diverted the ball into the net. But Shankland played a captain’s part when he was on the line to hack clear. The customary VAR check confirmed what we all knew, the ball hadn’t crossed the line.

Clement cut a frustrated figure as he paced around his technical area. There was a lack of fluency to Rangers’ play. Passing accuracy was at 81% and possession had been surrendered 55 times in the opening half hour. Of the 15 crosses into the box, only THREE were deemed successful. From one of those, Sima headed a Yilmaz corner wide at the back post.

Sam Lammers was doing little to suggest that he was going to come good any time soon. In the opening 37 minutes, he had had 24 touches and completed 16 of his 21 passes. And when he ballooned the ball over the bar, he was lampooned by the Hearts fans. For the home fans, it was becoming all too familiar for the dejected Dutchman.

As the clock ticked on to 45 minutes, Rangers still seemed bereft of any craft, guile, or invention. The six corner kicks won – taken unsurprisingly by the full backs – came to nothing, and Zander Clark looked to be departing to the dressing room having not been called upon in any way, shape, or form. But then came that sweet shout of salvation, PENALTY TO RANGERS!

Cantwell chopped inside and was felled. No VAR intervention was required. Surely Tavernier would send us for our half time pies a bit chirpier? Alas, his penalty thumped against the left-hand post, and that brought back the boos that have been the hallmark of so many games at Ibrox this season.

It was awful again. Clement now had to earn his stripes. Changes were a must, with Lammers and Dessers front and centre to be replaced. In the end, it was only the latter who stayed indoors. Danilo, who had been bright and prominent in Prague, was the man entrusted with the centre forward role. He would surely offer more than Dessers, but would he score the goals that were needed to turn this one around?

As if spirits hadn’t been dampened enough, rain fell from a darkening sky as the players emerged for the second half. That slickened the surface and Rangers were a tad slicker too when the action restarted. Lundstram had a couple of efforts from the edge of the area, tugging the second one wide of target after a neat interchange of passes. Although he didn’t hit the target, it was at least more enterprising.

After 56 minutes, Lammers passed up another good chance to score, stabbing the ball high over the bar with his left foot. His race was surely run now. Moments later, Cantwell forced a corner, but Sima headed Tavernier’s delivery into the ground and the ball bounced harmlessly over the bar.

Rangers seemed to be reverting to type – passing from side to side, hoping for an opening – yet it almost reaped a reward when the ball was funnelled wide to Tavernier. His cross was pawed away by Clark and Raskin flashed in a shot that ruffled the side netting. He should have hit the target, and to make matters worse, the young Belgian was injured and required a stretcher to be taken off the field. He was replaced by Scott Wright.

The change saw the shape switch to 4-1-4-1, with Wright playing inside Sima on the left. Shortly afterwards, Danilo headed Ridvan’s corner over the bar, and after 67 minutes of a home match, the opposition goalkeeper had not had a save to make. Of the nine shots Rangers had had in the second half, four had been off target, the other five blocked.

With 20 minutes to go, the time was now for Rangers. Chances to claw back Celtic have been few and far between, yet on their own patch, the Light Blues seemed to be meekly passing a glorious one up. Sam Lammers, remarkably still on the park at this stage, tried to create an opening, but succeeded only in stumbling through a couple of challenges before the ball trundled wide.

After 75 minutes, Cantwell trudged off. He had offered some flashes of class, won seven of his nine duels, and made one key pass. His 70 touches were 15 more than Lammers. He was replaced by Ross McCausland. Once fully fit, he will shine brightly as the season progresses.

Lundstram shot wide from range again, but the clock had now ticked passed the 80-minute mark. Time was of the essence, but there was still a distinct lack of anything positive about Rangers’ play.

Lammers was eventually withdrawn after 82 minutes. A man so far short of confidence, he completed 79% of his passes and fired two of his three shots off target. His other was blocked. For the financial outlay, we have to expect more of a return than that.

Some of the fans had had enough by now. They must have felt that this match would not have a positive outcome as blue seats started to appear as the clock showed 85 minutes. Could the lack of confidence from those who had left be misplaced? Were we set to witness a grandstand finish in the final act of what was the dress rehearsal for next weekend’s League Cup semi-final?

It seemed that we were set for that when VAR intervened, and Rangers had a second penalty. It was awarded for a tug on Connor Goldson’s jersey, and this time Tavernier, showing great bravery to take the responsibility, made no mistake, smashing the ball down the middle of the goal. Surely a match that had been so dire from a Rangers point of view couldn’t end with all three points.

The crowd were now roaring, and that reached a crescendo when the fourth official indicated that there would be NINE minutes added time. And the improbable became reality inside that period when Danilo rose at the far post to meet a sumptuous cross from Tavernier and headed Rangers ahead. That raised the roof, the roars reaching the rafters. Rangers had roused themselves and gained what could be a season-defining three points.

Philippe Clement has astutely said that the title race is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s a well-worn cliché, but an operative one. Ten games down, 28 to go, but this victory and the manner of it was another step in the right direction. Celtic lead, but they should be glancing over their shoulder now. Slowly but surely, we are coming, chasing them down, and ‘From Terrible to Treble’ could still be the headline we make when we look back on season 2023/24.

The quest for all three domestic trophies and the opportunity to ‘follow on’ to Dublin continues.