Dundee Utd 1
Rangers 3
League (Premier Division)

Match Report

Dave Bowman returned to the side as did Brian Welsh and Christian Dailly with Mark Perry, Paddy Connolly and Scott Crabbe stepping down.

Both sides made an enterprising start and United should have taken the lead after four minutes when Grant Johnson headed an Andy McLaren corner past when he had a free header. Huistra had the ball in the net shortly afterwards, but was ruled offside. He repeated the dose in the 14th minute and this time it counted, but the goal was down to Freddy van der Hoorn's failure to clear properly and his fellow Dutchman Pieter Huistra pounced to crack the ball into the top right hand corner from an acute angle. Maxwell continued to be the busier keeper, but that counted for nothing as we again contributed to our own downfall, Grant Johnson lost possession midway inside his own half. The ball was Played out wide right to Mikhailitchenko who teed the ball up for Hateley to sweep home a second. Even allowing for Brian Welsh heading a Hateley header off the line the two goal interval lead Rangers looked like securing by the interval flattered them, so you can imagine the feelings of those with Tangerine affiliations when Rangers clinically and cruelly broke away to grab a third on the threshold of the interval as United pressed for a goal to get themselves back in the game. The ball was transferred quickly from Mikhailitchenko to Hateley and into the middle where Huistra slammed in a third.

Alan Main had to block a Hateley shot on the turn immediately after the re-start, but from then on the United keeper was almost a spectator as United pushed forward relentlessly. Stevens headed a Billy McKinlay header off the line, but reward eventually came after Billy McKinlay's shot from a free-kick was deflected into Brian Welsh's path and the big defender hammered the ball home. Five minutes later Andy McLaren brilliantly controlled John Clark's long ball, but stabbed his shot wide of the post. A goal then would have undoubtedly made a game of it and before the end Maxwell saved at the feet of Christian Dailly after he had latched on to a misdirected pass-back. The longer the game went on Rangers were more and more content to soak up the pressure and almost grabbed a fourth when Pressley side-footed wide from a good position. To compound a miserable day, Jim Mclnally was sent off on the final whistle for aiming a kick at Pressley after a challenge.