Glasgow Rangers returned to winning ways this afternoon at Ibrox as they clawed back the deficit to nine points in the Premiership title race, albeit on a temporary basis.
The 5-2 victory over St Mirren wasn’t without a scare or two, with the Paisley outfit twice equalising through Mark O’Hara and the scores were tied at 2-2 heading into the final ten minutes of the match.
A flurry of goals followed, with Alfredo Morelos netting twice and late substitute Scott Arfield also getting on the scoresheet. The result means Michael Beale has only been on the wrong end of defeat twice during his spell as manager, both to Celtic.
Todd Cantwell was impressive yet again. The Englishman received a Sofascore rating of 9.5/10 for his display, comfortably the best player on the pitch as he added two assists to his early goal.
The former Norwich City player has been a shrewd signing, and he also chipped in with two key passes, five shots in total and four tackles throughout. However, it was Fashion Sakala who took his opportunity well, enjoying a solid performance against the Buddies.
How did Fashion Sakala perform for Rangers against St Mirren?
The Zambian has enjoyed success under Beale having been frozen out of the starting XI earlier in the season by former boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Under the Englishman, Sakala has scored six goals and grabbed seven assists, and it’s no wonder he was dubbed a “dangerman” by Rangers Review journalist Joshua Barrie before the recent Old Firm clash.
Against St Mirren, the 26-year-old was deployed in a slightly unfamiliar left-wing role due to an injury to Ryan Kent, although he has starred in this position before, most notably in a crucial win over Hibernian at the start of March.
Sakala scored the Gers’ second goal this afternoon while registering three key passes and five shots in total, clearly demonstrating how much of an attacking threat he posed the opposition defence.
The winger was successful with four of his eight dribble attempts and took 43 touches throughout his stint on the pitch, and despite not starting a match for a few weeks, he showed no sign of sluggishness in his performance.
The showing will have pleased Beale greatly and proves that he has solid strength in depth within his team, which could prove to be crucial heading into next season.