Rangers drop more points as 10-man Dundee hold on for a draw

Posted Sunday, December 09, 2018 by PA

Rangers dropped another two points in the Ladbrokes Premiership title race with a 1-1 draw at 10-man Dundee.

After losing 1-0 at home to Aberdeen at Ibrox in midweek, the visitors found themselves in trouble again when former Gers striker Kenny Miller scored after just nine minutes when he capitalised on a hesitant Ibrox rearguard to beat goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

That advantage was cancelled out in the 21st minute when Dark Blues defender Nathan Ralph was dismissed by referee Alan Muir for a foul on Daniel Candeias just outside the box and defender Andy Halliday fired in the resultant free-kick.

Rangers enjoyed the bulk of possession thereafter but their numerical superiority failed to pay off as Dundee defended stoutly for a well-deserved point that extended their unbeaten run to four games and lifted them off the bottom.

Steven Gerrard’s side moved into second place, two points behind Celtic, but they will have to improve immeasurably if they are to beat Rapid Vienna on Thursday night and secure a place in the Europa League knockout stages.

After the Dons defeat, it was all change for Gerrard who was without the services of leading scorer Alfredo Morelos and midfielder Scott Arfield through suspension.

Halliday, Joe Worrall, Jordan Rossiter, Ryan Kent, Eros Grezda and Kyle Lafferty came back in the side.

Dundee defender Andrew Boyle was in for the injured centre-back Darren O’Dea while Miller, who scored a hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Hamilton in midweek, led the line.

Almost inevitably, the veteran forward struck to break the deadlock.

A long ball from defender Ralph looked comfortable enough for Connor Goldson but the Ibrox defender failed to deal with it at the edge of his box and 38-year-old Miller pushed past him before knocking the ball beyond McGregor for his sixth goal in four games.

Rangers piled on immediate pressure in response and they received a numerical advantage when Ralph was sent packing by referee Muir for taking out Candeias as he was about to burst into the box, a decision that surprised many in the ground.

Dundee’s dismay was compounded when Halliday, with some assuredness, fired the free-kick high past Jack Hamilton to level.

Seconds later at the other end, McGregor was forced to block a Miller shot after more indecision in the visiting defence.

The Govan side were on top however and in the 31st minute Lafferty had the ball in the net from a Kent cross but his celebrations were ended when the flag was raised for offside, another decision that appeared contentious.

Glenn Middleton replaced Kent for the start of the second half and after little improvement, Borna Barisic, back on the bench after a long injury lay-off, replaced Rossiter with Halliday moving into midfield.

The visitors continued to dominate the ball but seemed to run out of ideas as they searched for a winner.

Ovie Ejaria replaced Halliday with 20 minutes remaining as Gerrard tried another route to three points.

However, anxiety and frustration grew among the travelling support as their side’s struggle went on.

Hamilton made a decent save from Ryan Jack’s drive but Rangers could not find a winner and their supporters let them know about it at the final whistle, which was celebrated by those in dark blue.