Rangers lose way in St Johnstone goal blizzard

• Kenny McDowall (pictured left), Walter Smith and Ally McCoist watch on as Rangers are humbled by St Johnstone at McDairmid Park. Picture: SNS

It is the first time Walter Smith's side have lost more than one goal in the league this season and the failure to pick up three points here means his side cannot lift the league title next midweek at Ibrox with two wins in their next two matches, however Celtic fare on Sunday against Hibernian.

This result might only delay Rangers' coronation, but it keeps things interesting in the middle of the league. St Johnstone's hopes of a top-six finish have been revived by this outlandish outcome. It is the Perth side's first win over Rangers in the league for over a decade, while not since a 4-2 defeat to Hearts three years ago have the Ibrox side conceded four goals in a league fixture.

St Johnstone enjoyed a whirlwind start and were two goals up inside the first 12 minutes. Both strikes – from Cillian Sheridan and Chris Millar – were helped by a degree of fortune. But there was nothing lucky about the win, which was secured by further goals from Liam Craig and second-half substitute Murray Davidson.

Rangers briefly cut the deficit to one through Sasa Papac but had to endure long periods of taunting from the St Johnstone fans, who revelled in this rare opportunity to sit back and enjoy a high-scoring victory over Old Firm opposition.

Early goals, like snow, seem to follow these two teams around. But this was extraordinary, and was far more noteworthy than the Co-Operative Insurance Cup semi-final between the sides in February. At Hampden, in the driving snow, Rangers established a stranglehold on the game by going in at the interval two goals ahead. Last night it was St Johnstone who turned up the heat on a wintry night.

With Rangers emerging clad in their all-white away strip, it was difficult not to think of Real Madrid. But it was Sheridan, the on-loan Celtic striker, who provided a more tangible link to such high quality fare.

Just seven minutes had passed when Danny Grainger thumped a pass up the left wing, which Sheridan duly chased. There seemed little on for him as Danny Wilson came across to shadow the striker. No-one had shown for Sheridan in the box either. Instead of holding on to the ball, as most expected him to do, he swung his left foot at it. But his effort from an acute angle just inside the touchline proved perfectly measured, although it was required to move sharply in the air in order to hit the target. Indeed, the ball bounced off both posts, before nestling in the net.

If Allan McGregor, the Rangers goalkeeper, was undone by this spectacular effort, then he was positively flummoxed by the heavily deflected shot which led to St Johnstone's second goal after just 12 minutes. Perhaps encouraged by Sheridan's success, Millar tried his luck from 25 yards. The shot would likely have lacked the impetus to beat McGregor, but Weir's attempt to block saw him inadvertently direct the ball past his goalkeeper. McGregor, it must be noted, was slow to react. For Weir, it was a ignominious way to mark becoming the oldest player – at 39 years, ten months and 20 days – to play for the Ibrox club since 1945.

But Rangers sought to recover the situation, and made a good start after just 16 minutes. Papac, who scored a late winner at McDiarmid Park when these two sides met earlier in the season, reduced the deficit to one after a melee in the penalty area. Steven Davis played the left-back in with a neatly threaded pass, and the Bosnian managed to drive the ball inside Graeme Smith's near post from a challenging angle.

Most in the ground anticipated the completion of a Rangers comeback by half-time. Walter Smith's side began to exert considerable pressure, although surprisingly this only lasted for a limited amount of time. And St Johnstone were never overwhelmed to the extent that they were pinned in their own half. Sheridan thrashed a ball into McGregor's side-netting before Craig handed St Johnstone some breathing space with a third goal, nine minutes before half-time. This time there was nothing fortunate about the execution. Millar crossed from the right and Craig rose to direct a downward header into the net.

As expected, Rangers looked a different outfit after the break. This, though, was due mostly to personnel reasons. Two of their eleven starters did not appear after half-time, with Smith replacing Kris Boyd with Kyle Lafferty and Kevin Thomson with Maurice Edu. Both Boyd and Thomson had been ineffectual, with the latter rarely seen.

The snow had, at least, relented. But the heat was still on for St Johnstone, who knew they had to battle until the last moment to claim their first win over Rangers since the League Cup quarter- final triumph at Ibrox in 2006.

The Ibrox side did improve slightly in the second half. St Johnstone were forced into unconventional acts of defending. Smith hacked one far-post effort from Lafferty off the line with his foot. The temperature dipped, but not the effort levels.

The last throw for Rangers was the introduction of Nacho Novo for Wilson, with 15 minutes remaining and shortly after the Spaniard's introduction there was a goal to cheer.

But it was St Johnstone who struck in the 80th minute, helping clear the away stands in the process. A Grainger free-kick was knocked down by Michael Duberry, and substitute Davidson stabbed the ball home.