Rangers struggled to break through a crowded midfield as the first half went on as County started to find their rhythm. Butland’s mistake almost gave Hale a golden chance to equalise and Noah Chilvers had a great chance from distance but was denied by a huge save by a fully outstretched Butland.
Rangers made those missed opportunities prove costly. Hamilton had just produced a magnificent piece of goalkeeping but quickly became the villain. His heavy touch in the area allowed Danilo to close him down, Hamilton’s attempted clearance struck Danilo, who quickly pounced on the loose ball and slid it into the net to give Rangers a two-goal cushion.
Ross County had two huge chances in the second half to haul themselves back into the game, both coming via the head of Akil Wright. A dangerous ball into the area saw Wright rise highest; his flick evaded everyone but Campbell couldn’t meet it at the far post to steer it goal-wards. Seconds later, James Brown whipped in another dangerous ball. Wright met it again, but his header was straight at Butland, who knew little about it but kept it out.
Rangers had multiple opportunities to increase their lead, but County did well to keep them out. There was a sense that the players thought the game was done as the second half wore on, the intensity dropping significantly. Don Cowie had thrown on a host of forward options to try and get his side back into the game, but they were unable to deliver any meaningful service to their big target men.
Clement began using the second half to get minutes into some player’s legs. With a big week of football ahead, Rangers were in no mood to take any chances over players’ fitness which saw Clement use all five subs available to him.
James Tavernier then put an exclamation mark on the win. After being dropped, his form has seen a dramatic increase and he was excellent again today. A loose ball comes across the edge of the County box; it sat up beautifully for the fullback, who cut across the ball and struck it hard into the corner, Hamilton could do little but watch the ball fly past him.
The win sees Rangers close the gap to just two points behind Aberdeen now as the battle for 2nd place heats up. Rangers have a game in hand over their rivals, which means all eyes are on January 15th when Aberdeen travel to Ibrox on a Wednesday night fixture under the bright lights.
As for Ross County, they travel to the capital next weekend to take on Hibs and they will need a big performance, which is something they have yet to find on the road this season, as that now becomes a huge clash at the foot of the table.
