RANGERS secured a comfortable 4-0 win and all three points in the Scottish Premiership this afternoon against St Johnstone at a baking hot Ibrox.
Malik Tillman, Antonio Colak, Scott Arfield and Tom Lawrence were all on-target in the comprehensive victory for the Light Blues to make it three wins from three so far this season.
Manager Gio van Bronckhorst named four changes today - from the team which overcame a 2-0 deficit in Champions League qualifying in midweek to beat Union Saint Gilloise 3-0 on the night, in came Ryan Jack, Rabbi Matondo, Scott Wright, and for a starting debut, Ben Davies.
They took the places of Lawrence, Arfield, Ryan Kent and James Sands.
That meant it was a back five of Jon Mclaughlin in goal with James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Davies and Borna Barisic in front of him.
Ryan Jack, John Lundstram and Tillman were in the middle of the park, with Wright and Matondo playing either side of Colak.
There were places on the bench this afternoon for Lawrence and Arfield next to Allan McGregor, Ridvan, Steven Davis, Glen Kamara, Alfredo Morelos, Fashion Jr and Leon King.
Temperatures weren’t far off the 30-degree mark as we approached kick-off in Govan, with water breaks scheduled for the middle of both halves such was the intensity of the heat.
Gers first opportunity came on four minutes with Tillman charging down goalkeeper Remi Matthews, with the ball cannoning off the American attacker and landing wide of the target.
St Johnstone then had an opportunity on 17 minutes when a loose ball dropped for a grounded Thelonius Bair in the box to stab wide of the target.
Matthews then saved well from a 25-yard Lundstram ping before on 32 minutes, Gers hit the front.
A Barisic corner was cleared wide to Wright who fed Tavernier 25-yards from goal wide on the right.
He sent a stunning ball to the back post, and there, peeling off his marker, was Malik Tillman for his second headed goal in as many games, crashing his effort in off the bar from a pretty acute angle.
Tavernier stung the palms of Parish with a long-ranger soon after, while Lundstram shot over from 18-yards on the end of an excellent one-touch passing move from Gers.
The second half began with plenty of action going the way of the St Johnstone goal, and Matondo cracked the crossbar with an excellent curling effort from 20-yards not long after the restart.
Barisic then clipped the crossbar with a free-kick effort before Antonio Colak made it three goals in three games on 62 minutes.
Drey Wright was sloppy in possession in his own box, and wise to that was Rabbi Matondo to slide in and get the ball to Colak to turn and slide a super finish past Matthews to give Gers their deserved cushion.
A fine block from Alex Mitchell stopped sub Alfredo Morelos getting a tap-in on the end of an Arfield cutback, before Jack whistled a 30-yader wide from a Tavernier corner. Goal number three of the afternoon then arrived on 80 minutes.
An excellent, defence-splitting pass from Ryan Jack put Rabbi Matondo in again, he waited for Matthews to come out before cutting the ball back for Scott Arfield to slide home to start adding some icing to a fine afternoon for the Light Blues.
Three minutes later, it was 4-0, with Tom Lawrence getting his first goal for the club. Breaking the lines once more was James Tavernier, getting into the box, turning back to feed Arfield, with Arfield then cutting the ball back for Lawrence on the penalty box to sweep home.
4-0 was how it was to finish, with Gers now turning all their attention to Tuesday night, and the visit of PSV Eindhoven on Champions League play-off duty.
RANGERS: McLaughlin, Tavernier, Goldson, Davies (King, 78), Barisic, Jack, Lundstram (Kamara, 78), Tillman (Lawrence, 66), Wright (Arfield, 66), Matondo, Colak (Morelos, 66).
SUBS NOT USED: McGregor, Ridvan, Davis, Fashion Jr.
ST JOHNSTONE: Matthews, McGowan, Mitchell, Considine, Montgomery (Brown,, 60), Hallberg, MacPherson (Phillips, 7), Carey, Bair (May, 60), Murphy (O’Halloran, 77), Wright (Crawford, 77).
SUBS: Parish, Gordon, Ballantyne, Kucheriavyi.
REFEREE: Nick Walsh
ATTENDANCE: 48,665
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