RANGERS’ recovery from the abject humiliation they suffered at the hands of Liverpool last week continued with this narrow but welcome win over second tier rivals Dundee in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final at Ibrox tonight.
The pain of the record 7-1 defeat which they slumped to in their fourth Champions League group game in Govan will linger for some time to come and will certainly not be erased by a nervous victory over opponents who are in fourth place in the Championship.
They really need to get a result against Napoli in Italy next Wednesday night to make amends for the embarrassing mauling and that will, with the Group A leaders bidding to top the section, be no easy feat.
Still, Rangers built on the 2-1 triumph which they recorded in the league against Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday with another win and booked their place in the semi-final at Hampden in January in the process.
A first-half Steven Davis goal gave them the lead and that ultimately proved enough to see them into the last four. It was a little too close for comfort for the majority of the 37,107-strong crowd and they endured a few anxious moments near the end. But the outcome at the end of the 90 minutes was deserved.
The Liverpool loss had prompted some irate supporters to call for manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst to be replaced. This flat display and unconvincing result will not do much to persuade those who want to see change that he is the right man to lead them forward. There were a few boos at the final whistle. But it was at least an improvement on what had taken place seven days earlier.
Van Bronckhorst took the opportunity to hand game time to a number of individuals who have not been featuring on a regular basis of late.
Jon McLaughlin, who had failed to reclaim his place in the starting line-up after missing the Napoli match last month due to an injury, took over from Allan McGregor in goals.
McLaughlin had been poor in the back-to-back 4-0 losses to Celtic and Ajax at the start of last month. Could he use the opportunity to highlight that he had put those showings behind him and rediscovered the form he had exhibited in the opening weeks of the season? It was maybe not the best match for him to showcase his talents.
Josh Mulligan headed a Luke McCowan cross over his bar early on and then shelled a long-range effort into the stand just before half-time. The Scotland internationalist got off his line quickly in the second-half to prevent substitute Zak Rudden getting a shot away. But those were the only occasions the visitors seriously threatened.
Dundee sat deep, defended in numbers and looked to break on the counter. But Zach Robinson was isolated by himself in attack and they struggled to get out of their own half. After being subjected to eight minutes of sustained pressure by their hosts they fell behind.
Cammy Kerr failed to clear a Malik Tillman flick to Scott Wright in his penalty box and the midfielder pounced on the loose ball and tested Adam Legzdins. The keeper palmed the attempt clear. But Davis was perfectly placed to nod over the line from a few yards out.
Opportunity knocked for Ridvan Yilmaz at left back. There was great excitement among Rangers fans when the Turkish internationalist was signed from Besiktas for £3.4m back in July. But the 21-year-old had made just two starts and four appearances in total before tonight.
Was Yilmaz ready to show why it cost so much to secure his services? His manager had certainly spoken positively about his summer acquisition at his pre-match press conference and rested Borna Barisic.
The diminutive player was not troubled greatly by opposition winger McCowan during the course of the outing. But he certainly looked good going forward and used the ball intelligently.
He was, too, unfortunate not to net. He chipped just over in the first-half and tested Legzdins from an acute angle after linking well with Wright in the second.
Free-scoring striker Antonio Colak was rested and Alfredo Morelos handed a start up front. The Colombian worked hard both in and outside the opposition area and should have built on Rangers’ tally when James Tavernier played him in. He fired a powerful effort straight at Legzdins.
One of the biggest cheers in the opening 45 minutes came when Kemar Roofe emerged from the Rangers dugout to warm up at the side of the pitch. He has not played since the Europa League final back in May due to injury. The presence of the £4.5m forward, who netted 17 times last term, in the squad once again clearly delighted supporters
Legzdins did well to prevent a deflected Yilmaz cross from dropping into his net early in the second-half and denied the full-back, Morelos and Wright thereafter. His efforts kept alive his team’s hopes to levelling the cup tie.
Van Bronckhorst had paired Leon King and James Sands together in the heart of his rearguard. It was risky given their lack of experience together. But they dealt with everything that was thrown at them and played their part in the win.
Roofe got a warm reception from the Rangers when he came on for Morelos in the 73rd minute. But neither he nor his fellow replacements Scott Arfield and Charlie McCann, who took over from Tillman and Davis respectively, could kill off the game.
