Kevin Kelsy scored twice as Rangers defeated St Johnstone 4-0 at Ibrox on 24 October 2026, strengthening their Scottish Premiership challenge with a convincing home victory. Ryan Naderi and substitute Tochi Chukwuani supplied the other goals, while the visitors finished with ten players following Kai Fotheringham’s dismissal.
The result moved Rangers within one point of leaders Celtic at that stage of the weekend, with Celtic still to play Hibernian the following day. It also extended Rangers’ strong sequence to seven wins in eight league matches. Although the final score suggested a comfortable afternoon, St Johnstone briefly threatened to change the contest after half-time before Rangers responded with two decisive goals.
Rangers Begin with Purpose in Difficult Conditions
Heavy rain provided the backdrop at Ibrox, adding uncertainty to ball control, shooting and goalkeeping. Rangers nevertheless established early attacking intent, with Badredine Bouanani involved in attempts to find a breakthrough.
Starting positively mattered because a level score can encourage visiting opponents to settle into their defensive work. Rangers needed to move the ball with enough purpose to create openings rather than simply accumulate possession around a compact shape.
The conditions did not remove the need for precision. They made accurate passing and anticipation more valuable, particularly when shots or deliveries became difficult to handle. Rangers eventually found their opener through a connected attacking move. The weather was part of the setting, but the decisive action still required players to recognise space and make the appropriate choices.
Kelsy Finishes a Move Built on Cooperation
Kelsy opened the scoring in the 29th minute after Kim Min-su released Naderi, who squared the ball for his teammate to finish from close range. The move gave Rangers a deserved reward for their attacking efforts.
Naderi’s decision was central to the goal. Rather than treating his own forward run as the end of the move, he identified the better finishing option and supplied Kelsy. That cooperation turned a promising situation into a straightforward opportunity.
For Kelsy, the finish marked an effective return to the starting line-up. For Rangers, it demonstrated the value of several attackers contributing different actions within the same sequence. Kim advanced the move, Naderi delivered the final pass and Kelsy completed it. The goal belonged to the striker, but its construction was collective.
A Narrow Half-Time Lead Leaves the Match Open
Rangers reached the interval 1-0 ahead, a useful position without being a decisive one. St Johnstone remained within a single successful attack of restoring equality, and the home side still needed to protect against a change in momentum.
A narrow advantage creates a tactical balance. Continuing to attack can keep opponents occupied, but careless commitments forward may provide space for a response. Becoming too cautious can be equally problematic if it invites repeated pressure.
Rangers therefore had work remaining despite the encouraging first half. The subsequent scoreline should not obscure that point. Their larger margin was established later, after St Johnstone had attempted to reshape the match. The hosts ultimately handled that phase successfully, but they were required to earn the separation that made the closing stages more manageable.
St Johnstone’s Changes Produce a Better Spell
St Johnstone made three substitutions at half-time and returned with greater attacking purpose. Kai Fotheringham, Enes Alic and Bozo Mikulic were among those involved in attempts to bring the visitors back into the contest.
That period is important to an accurate reading of the result. Rangers did not control every passage simply because they eventually won by four goals. St Johnstone found opportunities to test the match’s balance while the deficit remained narrow.
However, improvement in general play needed to become a goal. Without that final reward, the visitors remained vulnerable to Rangers extending their lead. From an analytical perspective, this is often the difficult part of a recovery: a team can improve its movement and territorial position while still failing to change the practical demands imposed by the score.
Naderi Punishes a Loose Ball
Naderi doubled Rangers’ advantage in the 61st minute after Toby Steward could not hold Kim’s shot. The forward reacted to the rebound and converted, giving the home side a two-goal cushion during St Johnstone’s stronger spell.
The goal illustrated the importance of following an attempt rather than assuming the goalkeeper’s intervention has ended the attack. Wet conditions can complicate handling, but a rebound only becomes decisive when an attacker is positioned to exploit it.
Naderi supplied that readiness. Having created the opener, he now added a goal of his own, making a direct contribution to both of Rangers’ first two finishes. For St Johnstone, the setback was substantial. Their improved start to the half had not produced an equaliser, and the margin they needed to recover had suddenly doubled.
Kelsy’s Second Establishes Clear Separation
Five minutes later, Kelsy scored again. Emmanuel Fernandez made the initial contact from a corner, and the striker finished at the far post to put Rangers 3-0 ahead.
The timing made the two-goal burst particularly damaging. St Johnstone had moved from competing for an equaliser to needing three goals in a short period, while Rangers gained far greater freedom to manage the remaining contest.
Kelsy’s second finish also showed a different route to goal from the opening move. Rangers had succeeded through a passing combination, a rebound and a corner situation. That variety increased the defensive demands on their opponents. It did not mean every attack had been equally effective, but the hosts had found several ways to turn opportunities into tangible rewards.
Fotheringham’s Dismissal Comes with Rangers Already Ahead
St Johnstone were reduced to ten players in the 74th minute when Fotheringham was sent off following a video review. The incident involved a follow-through challenge on Nico Raskin after Fotheringham had played the ball.
The sequence matters because Rangers were already leading 3-0 when the dismissal occurred. It would therefore be inaccurate to explain the victory primarily through their numerical advantage. They had established the decisive margin against eleven opponents.
The red card nevertheless made St Johnstone’s remaining task more difficult. They had to reorganise while protecting against further damage and seeking an unlikely route back. For Rangers, the requirement was to remain disciplined and use the extra space intelligently. A numerical advantage can simplify some choices, but it does not remove the need for concentration or sound decision-making.
Chukwuani Adds the Final Goal from the Bench
Chukwuani completed the scoring in the 87th minute after fellow substitute Djeidi Gassama advanced down the left and supplied a cutback. The midfielder finished from close range, giving Rangers their fourth goal.
The move provided a further example of collective execution. Gassama’s contribution created the opportunity, while Chukwuani arrived in position to complete it. Both substitutes therefore influenced the final score rather than merely helping the team run down the clock.
Their involvement offered a positive demonstration of options beyond the starting eleven. However, one successful appearance cannot establish that every future change will produce the same impact. The immediate evidence was more specific: Rangers introduced players who maintained an attacking threat and combined for a late goal, reinforcing a victory already built by the starting side.
A Clean Sheet Completes Rangers’ Work
The attacking contributions attracted attention, but Rangers also finished without conceding. That outcome mattered during St Johnstone’s improved period after the interval, when a goal could have restored pressure on the hosts.
A clean sheet is a collective result. Protection in midfield, defensive positioning and goalkeeping all contribute, while retaining an attacking threat can prevent opponents from committing forward without concern.
The final score does not prove that Rangers faced no uncomfortable moments. St Johnstone’s attempts showed otherwise. It does confirm that those moments did not become goals. Rangers combined their finishing with enough defensive reliability to preserve control of the outcome, ensuring the second-half scoring burst strengthened their position rather than becoming part of a more unpredictable exchange.
The Table Tightens Without Settling the Title Race
Rangers’ victory reduced Celtic’s advantage to one point immediately after the match. That was a significant development, but the timing is essential: Celtic had not yet played their fixture against Hibernian.
The result therefore increased pressure in the standings without placing Rangers top. It also did not determine how the weekend’s table would ultimately look or establish the likely destination of the championship.
What Rangers could control was their own points return, and they delivered it emphatically. Seven wins in eight league matches represented a strong sequence, providing a firmer basis for confidence than one isolated result. Even so, sustained title challenges depend on maintaining standards across different opponents and situations. Ibrox supplied another successful performance, not a guarantee that the same level would automatically continue.
Four Goals Provide Reward and a Benchmark
Kelsy supplied the standout finishing contribution, Naderi combined creation with scoring, and Chukwuani ensured the substitutes also left a mark. Together, their goals turned a narrow first-half advantage into a convincing result.
St Johnstone’s brief improvement remained part of the story, as did the fact that their dismissal arrived after Rangers had scored three times. Those details distinguish the actual match from a simpler account of uninterrupted dominance.
For Rangers, the value lay in completing several connected tasks: breaking the deadlock, responding when challenged, extending the lead and preserving the clean sheet. The next demand was repetition. A four-goal victory strengthened their challenge, but its longer-term importance would depend on how consistently they reproduced the decisions, movement and finishing that made this afternoon successful.
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