Rangers go from Groundhog Day to Deadline Day as Punxsutawney Phil Clement hopes he wakes up to change
Across the Atlantic yesterday, it was Groundhog Day for the people of Pennsylvania. But back here it was the players of Ross County who were left with a familiar sense of deja vu as their never-ending Ibrox nightmare was played on repeat yet again.
Punxsutawney Phil – the weather-predicting rodent made famous by the Hollywood flick starring Bill Murray – was rolled out to forecast another six weeks of winter Stateside. But that’s nothing on the Staggies’ bleak nine-year run on the south side of Glasgow. They’ve faced Rangers here and at Hampden 12 times previously, with the Highlanders’ best efforts a couple of draws against Mark Warburton’s newly-promoted Light Blues back in 2016/17.
But in the 10 games since then it’s been defeat after defeat, with 35 goals shipped in the process. And any hopes County had of breaking that miserable cycle fell apart inside 35 minutes as Philippe Clement’s side refused to show any mercy to the relegation-threatened side, who have seen a 10-point lead over basement boys St Johnstone slashed to just five.
Punxsutawney Phil may be bracing himself for another month or so of chilly weather but his Ibrox namesake will have been delighted to see his side put on a red-hot first-half display. Ianis Hagi nabbed a double before John Souttar stepped up his comeback with a first goal of the season.
County did well to hold Gers at bay until 12 minutes from time when James Tavernier tucked home the Light Blues first Premiership spot-kick of the season as they maintained the 10- point gap on leaders Celtic.
Groundhogs weren’t the only ones making headlines in the US yesterday. Donald Trump is causing concern with his plans for a tariff trade war on neighbours Canada and Mexico. As for the Rangers