St Mirren hero Mikael Mandron sensed wounded Rangers were there for the taking before he plunged the knife in with the opening goal at Ibrox.
The Paisley hitman outmuscled Clinton Nsiala to lay the foundations for Saints’ first win in Govan in 34 years with a clinical finish after 51 minutes. Together with strike partner Jonah Ayunga the big Frenchman bullied the home defence all afternoon as Stephen Robinson’s side completed a home and away double on Philippe Clement’s ropey Gers.
And Mandron admits the Buddies’ powerful double act felt early on there was a chance to rumble up the Ibrox backline. Asked if he sensed a weakness, the 30-year-old said: “Yes. Jonah’s a very good player and we’ve got a similar build, and we both know that we can definitely work the defenders.
“It felt like, as the game was going to go on, we were definitely going to be able to get an opportunity. We did. And we managed to capitalise on it. It felt great. The whole team played so well. To come here and play well … sometimes you come here and you do well as a team, but you don’t necessarily get rewarded, but we definitely did on Saturday. It’s three massive points in what is a very big week for us.”
Mandron’s strike takes him onto the five goal mark for the season. But the former Motherwell man looked to have been denied his big moment when referee Kevin Clancy initially blew for a foul on Nsiala after he bulged the net.
VAR Grant Irvine intervened and after a quick check with the monitor Clancy over-ruled his decision allowing Mandron to celebrate for real with the small band of Saints supporters. And he admits he never doubted the goal would be allowed to stand.
He said: “Oh, I knew! I knew I never touched him. The only thing with VAR, sometimes you don’t know what’s going to come out of it. I was being patient, and I was hearing some of my team mates telling me, ‘it’s a goal, it’s a goal’ but I was patiently waiting for the referee to actually give it.
“And when he did, it just felt great. It really felt good. I ran all the way to the fans to celebrate with them. I’ve scored some cool goals, some big goals, but that one’s definitely up there.”
The win strengthens St Mirren’s spot in the top six ahead of Wednesday’s trip to face Hearts at Tynecastle. Robinson’s side were stronger than Gers across the park. But their victory wasn’t just about brawn as it came laced with quality too.
And Mandron insists they always knew they could secure a victory in Govan – even if it was a first since 1991. He said: “That is surprising, to be fair, because that’s a long time. But we definitely went into the game very confident.
“With some of the performances we’ve put in the last few games, we beat them at home as well earlier this season, so we definitely knew we could get something out of the game. We’re obviously very organised defensively, which we always are, but to come here and play the football that we played was pleasing.
“Everyone was confident, everybody felt relaxed. It felt like we fully deserved the win. Obviously, it solidifies our spot in the top six for now. It gives us massive confidence, but also a whole lot of momentum going into the next couple of games.”