The 49ers find out something about Rangers in an unforgiving place where stars wear stripes – big match takedown

If 49ers chief Paraag Marathe tuned in to Ibrox in the hope of seeing a big hitting performance then he wouldn’t have been disappointed.

Unfortunately for the NFL boss who is front and centre of a pack hoping to take control of Rangers in the coming months the power play was dressed in black and white. The stars were in stripes. The side Marathe hopes to buy along with his US consortium was brushed aside with ease by a St Mirren outfit who were stronger, hungrier and across the board better.

They like to talk about sacks in American Football. It’s a form of tackle apparently. It was also the word on every Gers fan's lips last night as Philippe Clement finally paid the price for a calamitous season 24 hours after his side were bullied in their own back yard by the Buddies.

From the moment the excellent Killian Phillips crunched into Ianis Hagi right in front of the home dug out midway through the first half the script was clear. Saints defender Marcus Fraser’s zealous applause of the tackle right in the Gers winger’s face epitomised a St Mirren side that were pumped up to do maximum damage to Clement’s team. And for the second time in under two months after they suffered a Boxing Day battering in Paisley.

This was Saints’ first win at Ibrox in 34 years. Not one of Stephen Robinson’s players were even born when that last occurred in November 1991. It’s the first time they have won back-to-back games against Rangers in 45 years.

And nobody would deny they thoroughly deserved their historic moment. Nothing summed up the mood among the Rangers fans better than the sound of them booing fourth official Duncan Williams when he held up the board to show a whopping nine minutes were to be added on to the 90.

Normally that would