Morelos nets 100th Rangers goal in comeback win at St Mirren

Alfredo Morelos scored his 100th Rangers goal to help his side come from behind to win 2-1 at St Mirren and return to the top of the Scottish Premiership.

St Mirren had gone ahead after just four minutes through Connor Ronan’s spectacular long-range strike, only for the champions to turn the match on its head with two goals in the space of just a minute and 46 seconds.

The equaliser came after Alan Power caught Ianis Hagi just inside the area, with Kemar Roofe stepping up to convert the resulting penalty, before Morelos put the visitors ahead two minutes before half-time.

Captain James Tavernier broke clear down the right and from his inviting centre, the totally unmarked Colombia striker stooped to head home from six yards out to finally bring up his century of goals for the club in his 199th appearance.

As a result, Steven Gerrard’s side moved back to the top of the table, three points above Hearts, while St Mirren stay seventh after the end of their six-match unbeaten run.

How Rangers moved top of the table

Rangers arrived at the SMiSA Stadium to face one of the in-form sides in the Scottish Premiership and the team that had knocked them out of the Scottish League Cup last season at the same venue, and the early exchanges showed why.

Jim Goodwin’s team controlled the opening quarter of the game, helped by going ahead early on in eye-catching style with one of the goals of the season as Ronan won the ball back off John Lundstram in midfield, before striding towards goal and beating Jon McLaughlin – in for Allan McGregor – with a thunderous shot into the top righthand corner.

That early strike appeared to stun Rangers, like an early knockdown in a boxing fight, and it was not until just before the break that they got back into the contest in dramatic style, albeit with a helping hand from their hosts.

Alan Power initially gave the ball away and when trying to make up for his mistake, only succeeded in bringing down Hagi just inside the box, allowing Roofe to bring his team level with a well-taken penalty.

Less than two minutes later and Rangers were ahead after a well-worked goal as Tavernier centered perfectly for Morelos, somehow left on his own in the six-yard box, to head home his third of the campaign and more importantly, to bring up his ton for the club.

That goal ended up being the winner as the visitors largely controlled the second period, keeping their opponents at arms’ length to back top by extending their remarkable run to just one defeat in their last 49 league outings.

What’s next?

St Mirren travel to Motherwell, while Rangers take on Aberdeen at Ibrox, with both Scottish Premiership games kicking off at 7.45pm on Wednesday.