Match Report: Rangers 2:0 Dundee United

Rangers 2:0 Dundee United
SPL Game No. 24
Ibrox Stadium
Attendance: 49,918
Referee: I Brines

Teams:

Rangers: McGregor, Broadfoot, Bougherra, Weir, Whittaker, Davis, Mendes, Ferguson, Fleck, Novo (Miller 43), Boyd (Lafferty 74)

Dundee Utd: Zaluska, Kovacevic, Dods, Kenneth, Grainger, Feeney, Gomis, Buaben, David Robertson (Daly 80), Conway (Swanson 57), Sandaza (Goodwillie 70)

Cards:
Dundee Utd: Grainger

Goals:
Rangers: Fleck 78 pen, Lafferty 90

Rangers have named an attacking team. Novo keeps his place up front with Boyd after his two goal display vs. Falkirk in midweek and Fleck replaces Naismith on the left side of midfield.

Whittaker comes in at right back and Broadfoot moves over to left back in lieu of Papac. The reason for this is to avoid any chance of Papac picking up a yellow card and therefore missing the Celtic game in two weeks' time.

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Match Report

First Half
1:55 A good move involving Mendes, Novo, Boyd and Davis is halted when the final cross come shot from Davis is blocked.
3:57 Davis to Boyd who is offside.
5:00 Conway beats Whittaker on the left, but Mendes clears up the danger.
6:00 A great ball from Fleck to Davis is wasted by a poor ball from Davis to Novo.
7:30 Weir plays a long ball to Novo who is offside.
8:23 A poor clearance by Broadfoot gives Sandaza a chance, but he wastes the opportunity.
9:40 Broadfoot is beaten but Weir cleans up.
10:00 A long throw from Dundee United (the first of many attempts today) is eventually cleared by the Rangers defence.

Play is generally fairly even, but rather scrappy. Rangers need to up the pace.

11:35 Another long throw-in by Dundee United is cleared.
12:39 Feeney to Gomis for Dundee United, but he shoots wide.
12:50 Weir looks awfully slow in running down a ball and his pass-back puts McGregor in trouble, but the danger is eventually cleared.
14:37 Novo takes a bad knock from a tackle from behind by Granger who is at left back for Dundee United and making his first start since last September.
15:23 A great tackle by Mendes gives Broadfoot the ball out left, but his attempted cross with his left foot is very poor.
16:13 Fleck does well and only a saving tackle from Kenneth on Novo prevents a Rangers goal.
16:42 Good tackle and run by Bougherra and then a good ball to Novo, but Novo is judged to be offside. Even at this stage it appears that the linesman is a little flag happy.
18:00 A let off for Rangers as a long throw from Kenneth is flicked on by Sandaza to Robertson who should have scored, but McGregor saves the day.
20:00 Davis finds Mendes who plays in Boyd, but Boyd is offside. Television replays show that he was onside.
21:00 A good cross by Bougherra is cleared by the Dundee United defence.
21:31 Weir tries to pick out Davis but Zaluska clears.
22:24 A Broadfoot cross is cleared and then Davis tries to reach Boyd but the ball runs through to the goalkeeper.
23:48 A long ball by Granger wins Dundee United a corner. A short corner wins another corner, which sails straight into the hands of McGregor.
24:49 Mendes finds Novo who does some great work to set up Boyd at the edge of the box, but Boyd’s shot curls wide of the target.
25:23 Fleck wins a throw-in deep, but nothing comes of it.
26:23 Broadfoot gives away a free kick.
26:56 Boyd judged to be offside again.

Rangers cannot seem to turn the United defence for now.

29:13 Novo beats Dodd and gains a free kick just wide right of the penalty box. Fleck curls it in hard and a Ferguson shot is blocked and cleared.
30:00 Davis finds Ferguson who plays it to Whittaker, but a poor cross ends a promising move.
31:39 Ibrox comes to life as a rocket shot from Fleck is tipped over by Zaluska.
This is the FIRST Rangers corner and Weir fluffs his shot, and an opportunity is gone.
33:42 A ball in from the left from Dundee United and Broadfoot slices his clearance and puts the Rangers goal under a lot of pressure. The ball is eventually cleared.
36:24 Granger beats Whittaker and wins a free kick. When the ball comes in Kenneth fouls Bougherra for a free kick to Rangers.
37:31 Some good work and a cross by Conway, but Feeney fouls Fleck.

The commentator is now informing us that Rangers have only led in six games at halftime this season. I am not clear if that refers to home games or all games in the SPL.

38:47 Rangers gain a corner after a great ball by Fleck. The corner results in a goal kick after it comes off Boyd.
40:15 Novo looks to be injured.
42:12 Good work by Whittaker as he breaks through 4 or 5 challenges and wins a corner.
42:33 Miller replaces an injured Novo.
43:37 Another poor clearance by Broadfoot.
43:50 A poor Conway cross for Dundee United goes out for a goal kick.
44:58 Boyd apparently wins a corner of Kenneth, but a goal kick is given. Television replays show that the referee got it wrong.
45:24 A Dundee United throw goes straight to McGregor.

Halftime Score:
Rangers 0-0 Dundee United

The first half was fairly even with no team looking likely to score. Defences are on top and the midfields are cancelling each other out.

Second Half:
46:05 A poor ball by Bougherra leads to a Dundee United throw-in.
48:00 A long throw by Dundee United leads to Mendes going down hurt. Granger who has been catching a lot of Rangers players all afternoon caught him.
50:25 Feeley beats Broadfoot and crosses; Weir miss-hits a clearance and almost sets up a chance for Dundee United.
51:45 Broadfoot finds Boyd who is judged to be offside, but again replays show him well onside.
52:00 Davis finds Miller wide, but a poor ball from Miller is cleared.
53:37 A good run by Bougherra, who is fouled and stopped by Granger. The referee Mr. Brines at long last books Granger. The free kick is taken by Fleck, but Bougherra heads wide.
55:00 Another long Dundee United throw-in is cleared.
55:30 Davis and Whittaker try and combine, but a poor Davis pass sets up a Dundee United counter-attack.
57:43 Weir is dispossessed, but the danger is cleared.
58:00 Mendes nearly plays Boyd in twice in succession.
59:28 Swanson beats Whittaker, but the danger is eventually cleared.
60:00 A long Dundee United throw-in is cleared.

At present Rangers do not look like scoring.

63:15 Feeney breaks up the right for Dundee United but sends a poor cross out of play.
64:21 A great run and cross by Bougherra leads to a half chance for Boyd who brings a good save from the goalkeeper.
65:00 Bougherra finds Whittaker up front. He, Whittaker, back heels the ball to Fleck, whose shot is wide.
66:20 Miller is judged to be offside: another very close or wrong call.
67:15 Boyd is now offside.
68:14 Mendes wins a free kick. A great ball by Davis plays in Whittaker, but his poor shot is easily saved.
69:25 Sandaza is taken off and replaced by Goodwillie for Dundee United.
71:30 A good move involving Boyd, Mendes, Fleck leads to a Mendes shot being blocked.

Frustration is setting in.

73:07 Lafferty replaces Boyd.

73:00 A long throw by Dundee United and a Robertson header is saved by McGregor.
74:00 A poor touch by Miller breaks up a promising move.
74:58 Lafferty scores! No, it is chalked off for offside! Clearly a wrong decision by the linesman.
76:21 Fleck breaks through on the left and is pushed in the back by Kovacevic, well in the box. Penalty Rangers and Fleck is grabbing the ball to make sure he is going to take it! He makes a very accomplished job of it, too.

Rangers 1-0 Dundee United after 77 minutes.

78:25 Fleck is booked after a hard tackle to set up a Dundee United free kick. From the free kick Kovacevic nearly scores with a header. A let-off for Rangers.
79:40 Robertson is replaced by Daly for Dundee United, who will now play with Feeney, Goodwillie and Daly up front.
80:19 A long throw from Dundee United is cleared and Mendes finds Miller on side who gets away from his man, but then gets tangled in his own feet and runs the ball over the goal line. A wasted opportunity.
81:19 A free kick for Rangers goes harmlessly through to the goalkeeper.
83:43 A great chance to finish the game. Davis plays in Miller who misses a great chance, but the ball breaks back to him only for him to miss again. Poor play by Miller, who really should have scored.

Rangers pile on the pressure against a tired-looking Dundee United side, but there is no end result for now.

87:00 Whittaker finds Miller, who spins but forgets the ball, which runs out for a goal kick.
88:48 A shot from Davis is easy for the goalkeeper to hold.
89:00 Fleck and Broadfoot combine to win the first corner of the second half. Nothing comes from it.
90:30 Goodwillie fouls Mendes and the referee speaks to both players.

Four minutes of added time.
92:17 Lafferty finds himself with only the goalkeeper to beat, but takes too long in thinking about it and his shot is saved.
94:00 Miller puts through Ferguson who looks slow, but the ball breaks back off the goalkeeper to Lafferty 20 yards out and this time he makes no mistake with a low placed shot and the goalkeeper stranded.

Rangers 2-0 Dundee United after 94 minutes!

Ibrox is full of happy Rangers fans!

Final Score:
Rangers 2-0 Dundee United

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Player Ratings


McGregor: Some very good saves, particularly early in the game. On top form.
Rangers Media score: 7.5 points

Whittaker: Tried hard, but beaten too often.
Rangers Media score: 5.5 points

Bougherra: Good steady game. Some good runs.
Rangers Media Score: 6.5 points

Weir: Good steady game mostly, but looked slow at times and one bad pass-back.
Rangers Media score: 6.0 points

Broadfoot: Tried hard on the left side, but a few very poor clearances and not effective going forward.
Rangers Media score: 5.0 points

Davis: Hot and cold. Needs to be more involved.
Rangers Media score: 5.5 points

Mendes: Good game, but not up to his usual high standard.
Rangers Media score: 6.0 points

Ferguson: Again played on the periphery of the game. Not the Ferguson of old.
Rangers Media score: 5.5 points

Fleck: A good game. He has an old head on young shoulders. Won the game for Rangers. He had great composure generally, but particularly at the penalty.
Rangers Media score 8.0 points

Boyd: Poor game.
Rangers Media score: 5.0 points

Novo: Tried hard and non stop running, but was injured after a bad tackle early in the game.
Rangers Media score: 5.5 points

Substitutes:

Miller: On after 42 minutes for Novo. Back to poor form. Missed two good chances and a horrible first touch. A good pass towards Ferguson led to Lafferty’s goal.
Rangers Media score 4.0 points

Lafferty: On after 73 minutes for Boyd. Did extremely well in the time he was on. Scored one goal, but missed a sitter too.
Rangers Media score: 5.5 points


Manager:
A very good team selection given the circumstances. His substitutions paid off. This was a very good day for Walter and Rangers.
Rangers Media score: 8.0 points.

Man of the Match:
John Fleck. No doubts about it.