Steven Gerrard grappling with cup conundrum in wake of Rangers' stunning loss to St Johnstone

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Steven Gerrard will never have to pay for a drink or a meal in Glasgow, thanks to the unbounded gratitude of Rangers supporters who will remain grateful in perpetuity that he prevented Celtic from winning an epochal 10th successive Scottish title. If, however, the former Liverpool and England captain had to depend for nourishment on his cup record at Ibrox, he would be in the queue for a food bank. The astounding finale to Sunday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final against St Johnstone - when the Saints goalkeeper, Zander Clark, got his head to a corner kick to assist Perth side's 122nd-minute leveller and so force a shoot-out in which he saved two kicks - meant that Gerrard had to stomach a sixth defeat in domestic cup competitions since he took the job in the summer of 2018. His first season in charge saw Rangers dumped from both tournaments by Aberdeen. In December 2019, they met Celtic in the Scottish League Cup final at Hampden Park but, after Fraser Forster saved an Alfredo Morelos penalty kick, Rangers lost to a Christopher Jullien header which was not only the Hoops’ only effort on goal, but also offside. If that counted as rotten luck, Rangers’ subsequent ejection from the Scottish Cup by Hearts – then bottom of the league – was simply rotten form. In December they were favourites to win the League Cup after Celtic were knocked out by Ross County but, yet again, Gerrard’s players stumbled, in a 3-2 defeat by St Mirren. This time around, having thwarted Celtic’s desire for 10-in-a-row in the league, Rangers also put an end to their arch foes’ hope of a fifth successive Scottish Cup victory with a 2-0 win at Ibrox 10 days ago. An impressive combination of achievements became possible – a first league and cup double since 2009 and a perfect campaign of home victories.

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