THE PAIN keeps coming for Rangers. As if the off-field stuff is not enough at the moment, then the labouring side seem intent on setting up another nightmare scenario for the suffering supporters. This defeat, their third in four games since entering administration, raises the prospect of Celtic winning the title at Ibrox next weekend for the first time since 1967.
It was not one that Ally McCoist wished to dwell on afterwards. “I am not even thinking about next weekend to be honest with you, I just don’t like getting beat,” said the Rangers manager. “I have never been scared of an Old Firm game in my life and I don’t plan on starting now. We have certainly got players that can win the game.”
Yet Rangers were yet again depleted beyond recognition yesterday, particularly in defence with Carlos Bocanegra and Dorin Goian suspended and Steven Whittaker injured. Lee McCulloch partnered Ross Perry at centre-back with Rhys McCabe at right-back. Only Allan McGregor, the goalkeeper, and Lee Wallace, the left-back, could be termed first-choices in the rearguard. Although McCulloch did his best to keep this unit hanging together with his aerial prowess, it was breached eight minutes from the break when Rangers could not deal with Gary Mackay-Steven’s corner from the left as it crossed their box and the ball eventually sat up perfectly for Keith Watson to lash it home with a full-blooded volley.
When Mackay-Steven skipped past McCabe two minutes into the second half and crossed for Jon Daly to turn home easily, too easily given the presence of Perry and Wallace on either side of him, things got bleaker still for the visiting fans despite the spring sunshine. Although they were lifted by the introduction of Sone Aluko and the goal he forced after dribbling in from the right and seeing his shot spin into the far corner off John Rankin, it came too late for them to salvage a point.
That begged the question of why the winger had not started the match rather than being one of the five substitutes McCoist named of the permitted seven, another indication of Rangers’ scant resources right now. “I just felt the wee man’s form had dipped ever so slightly and we decided to go with five working across the midfield. It looked all right first half and we certainly got the reaction from Sone we wanted when he came on,” explained McCoist.
Advertisement
The home fans provided a sharp contrast to the downcast visiting ones, with jubilant choruses of ‘the League is over, why don't you go home?’ and ‘Can we play you every week’. They might have had another goal to cheer, too, when Gavin Gunning nodded Paul Dixon’s free kick down to Johnny Russell, who arched into a left-foot shot that was kept out only by a combination of McCulloch and the flying figure of Allan McGregor.
Rangers pressed for an equaliser with plenty of heart but nowhere near enough a wit. Andrew Little was isolated and had to work with scraps, his only moment of real threat coming when he drew a decent save form Pernis after meeting a Davis cross with a sidefoot volley.
McCoist’s side were also left to rue their failure to make the most of a decent opening half-hour in which Davis, manfully trying to lead his colleagues, slapped in an early shot that Pernis saved. The Rangers captain then almost played Salim Kerkar in after the busy Algerian had hustled Sean Dillon into a mistake, but instead his pass carried through to Pernis, with the visiting fans loudly berating Kerkar for not pursuing it with greater hunger. Next, Alejandro Bedoya managed to plot a meandering course through United's defence with a run but could not guide the ball beyond Pernis at the conclusion of it.
United hung on pretty comfortably in the end with the excellent Gunning setting a composed tone at the heart of their defence, although their win was tinged by the news that Scott Severin, the former Scotland international and a popular member of their squad, has had to call time on his career after a series of ankle injuries.
“It’s a huge dampener for me personally because I have known Scott since I was his youth coach at Hearts,” said Peter Houston, United’s manager. “He was captain of my youth team that won the BP Cup in 1998. At first, he was pretty low and sad but we have given him some coaching to do and he’s enjoyed that. We have seen the smile coming back to his face, although deep down there must be disappointment.”
Advertisement
Dundee United: Pernis; Watson, Dillon, Gunning, Dixon; Flood, Robertson, Rankin, Mackay-Steven (Armstrong 86min); Russell (Ryan 86min), Daly
Rangers: McGregor; McCabe, McCulloch, Perry, Wallace; Edu; Mitchell (Aluko 52min), Davis, Bedoya (Hemmings 83min), Kerkar; Little