St Mirren have put Rangers and Celtic on the back foot for ages so our win was coming
Marcus Fraser celebrated a milestone appearance for St Mirren with a statement win against Rangers on Boxing Day which he feels was a “long time coming”.
The 30-year-old defender turned out for the Buddies for the 200th time since signing from Ross County in 2020 and played a captain’s part in a stunning Saints win.
Stephen Robinson’s side deservedly led at the break with an Oisin Smyth penalty and although Gers substitute Danilo levelled in the 61st minute, the home side steadied and substitute Caolan Boyd-Munce drove in a dramatic winner in added time for the first league win over Rangers since 2011 to take them into fifth place as they prepare to host Dundee on Sunday.
Fraser said: “I was told before the game it would be my 200th appearance so obviously that’s a good personal achievement. But to win it just capped off a great day and made it a lot better for myself. Obviously, 200 appearances is an extra wee bonus but the most important thing was the three points and we got that.
“It was brilliant. When we play against Rangers or Celtic, we always seem to do well, we’re pressing from the front and getting about them and really putting them on the back foot. So that result was probably a long time coming. The manager stated to us that we’ve not had a marquee result in a wee while, so he wanted to put that right and obviously we got that. So we’re glad that happened.”
Read more:
It was St Mirren’s third successive victory – all with late winners – and they are on course to at least match last season’s fifth-place finish which booked a place in Europe for the first time in 37 years.
Summing up a “brilliant” year, Fraser said: “Well, it all comes from the good run that we’ve been on and winning games.
“That’s three in a row now, it really propels you up that table, gets you a few places up and that’s what you want. We got back-to-back wins and shot up the table and then winning again the other night then takes you up another place. It just shows you how massive it is to keep that run going.
“That momentum can really push up the league. So we’re going to be looking to do that one game at a time, not getting too far ahead of ourselves. But if we put on a good performance and start fast, then I think we’re a match for anyone.
“I’ve always said over the last few years it’s the small percentages that the club is getting better with, whether it’s stuff around the training ground or in the background. Everyone’s just trying to push in that direction to make the club better all the time, and that’s what drives it forward. If you can do that, then you can make the gulf between us and teams like Rangers a bit smaller. You can see that with the performances the other night when everyone’s driving towards the same goal.”
