Rangers 1-1 St Mirren: Thompson haunts former club with last-gasp equaliser

The very last touch of a 93-minute confrontation that seemed for all the world set to put 12 points of daylight between Rangers and Celtic, saw Thompson slide in to divert a diagonal ball from David van Zanten past Allan McGregor.

To St Mirren and their manager Danny Lennon it was justified reward for their positivity and passing play that left Rangers often ball-watching and mundane. To his Ibrox counterpart, Ally McCoist it was a “shocking” equaliser to concede, a fine strike from Nikica Jelavic just after the interval having appeared enough for the home side.

“We didn’t play well but we should still have won it,” McCoist said. “We pressed them up the park and their keeper mishit it and two passes later it was in our net.”

That is to perhaps do down the bold, on-the-deck football from a visiting team that Lennon had configured into 3-4-3 from 4-2-3-1 for a final assault on a point, “throwing a couple of dice” to send substitutes Gary Teale and Jon McShane up front alongside Thompson. All three seemed to race to meet Van Zanten’s ball in, with Paul McGowan having sharply spread the ball out to the on-rushing full-back in space on the right as St Mirren sliced apart their opponents.

The end result did not make for any mixed emotions to former Rangers striker Thompson. “It felt brilliant, to be honest,” he said of the goal. “I thought the way we played we deserved something and I think the stats will show we had more possession. The football we played in the first half was sensational.

“We are playing the type of football the manager is forcing down our throats every day and with this result we did it the way he wants it to be done.”

Lennon remained decidedly sober in digesting a first trip to Ibrox in four years that did not bring defeat. He seemed to have a bee in his bonnet about the goal that appeared set to continue this sequence, making great play of a perceived foul on McGowan in the lead-up to Kyle Lafferty showing great tenacity to win a challenge with Jeroen Tesselaar down towards the touchline on the right before sending over a cutback that was half-cleared before Jelavic produced an imperious finish.

He and then Steven Whittaker both were thwarted by Craig Samson when presented with later opportunities, though at the other end the Rangers right-back also denied Thompson with a great block when the forward was through on goal.

If the end of the afternoon did not follow the supposed narratives, the start certainly did. Chants of “Gazza’” “let’s all laugh at Celtic” and “Lennon must stay” from the Blue Order group in the Broomloan Stand were belted out in quick succession. Ensuring they stayed nine points ahead of second-placed Motherwell with a win over the over the Paisley side wasn’t supposed to present any major difficulties.

And for 15 minutes, it didn’t look as if it would. The flow of play was constantly towards the visitors’ goal. Inside the first ten minutes Samson was required to make two saves. The first came when he had to stick out a hand to prevent Marc McAusland’s kneed pass-back under pressure from Jelavic zipping past him. Shortly afterwards, the keeper was alert and perfectly positioned to block at his near post after Lafferty flicked a volley from a Gregg Wylde corner.

The encounter descended into nothingness in the quarter of an hour that followed, and St Mirren began to find their confidence and moved the ball around so their opponents were starved of possession.

It was testament to Lennon’s pre-match pledge that St Mirren would be constructive. The problem for them, though, was that they could never deliver the ball into dangerous areas. They played in front of the Ibrox men. Any time they attempted to be more enterprising Nigel Hasselbaink didn’t have the strength to hold the ball up and no decent service or openings could be offered to attacking focal point Thompson.

It was left to a man who enjoyed a similar length spell in the 1990s to lift the mood inside Ibrox. The rapturous welcome received by Gascoigne, who left in 1998, was heartfelt and not a little born out of pity for his human and bodily frailties.

At the stadium for a glorified book promotion event – his third autobiography, entitled Glorious: My World, Football And Me was on sale for £19.99 and he would be doing a signing session afterwards, we were repeatedly reminded – he appeared emaciated and haunted and, as his half-time chat stretched out, more than a little faltering. But, like the support who showered him with love, he returned it. “This is a special place for me and my heart,” he said when introduced as a nine-in-a-row favourite. “I haven’t been back in a while and wish I’d never left when I did. The best football I ever played in my life was here at Ibrox and no-one can take that away from me. I wish I could pull on my boots and do the lads a favour today. To come home is just fantastic.”

Never mind that another sort of homecoming proved all the more fantastical.