Rangers got back to winning ways as they scraped past Dundee United at Ibrox.
The Light Blues had to hold on to take a must needed three points after a late United push caused nerves. The home side looked to be fully in control when Antonio Colak netted another league brace in an impressive display. But United fought back and the side bottom of the the league bounced back after another defensive lapse from Giovanni van Brockhorsts men.
Many had tipped Van Bronckhorst to stick with the team who put in a positive performance against Napoli, but the Dutchman made three changes handing starts to Leon King and Charlie McCann.
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The Rangers boss called on his side to have a fast start and they flew out the traps early on. Ryan Kent came close but couldn’t get enough on his chance before Antonio Colak fired home. Rangers continued to dominate throughout the first half without creating many clear cut chances.
They made another positive start to the second half after a Borna Barisic cross was pounced on by Antonio Colak. United started to threaten on the break and Rangers were again caught when Borna Barisic allowed Liam Smith to run into the box and drive a low shot past McGregor.
Here are three things we learned:
Improved intensity but still not enough
A lot of criticism has been levelled at Rangers for their slow starts in recent weeks. Against Celtic they were caught sleeping at fast set pieces from their rivals. In Amsterdam their lethargy was further exposed. Things seemed to improve against Napoli with the Light Blues moving the ball quicker and going more direct. Today, they pressed United from the start, blue shirts swarmed around the Tangerines defence at every opporuntity. However this dropped off in patches and turned a dominate performance into a narrow win.
Back to winning ways
Make no mistake this was a huge win for Giovanni van Bronckhorst. After the worst run of results since 2006 they simply had to take the three points and get back to winning ways.
Failure to do so would have really cranked up the pressure on the Dutchman with Rangers starting the day five points behind runaway leaders Celtic.
It might not have been the big win fans desired, but a win is a win, with tougher tests lying ahead as the Light Blues head to Tynecastle on their next league outing
.Not keeping the zero
Rangers have now conceded 12 goals in four games. Although they started today 11-0 down, this doesn’t make good reading for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men. The manager will be determined to see his side ‘keep the zero’ in their next outings.
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