Rangers 3 - 3 Dundee Utd: United lay to rest the ghost of seven-goal thrashing

Published on Sunday 14 March 2010 23:29

THREE months after six goals had separated these teams on SPL business at Ibrox, the same number bound them together when they reconvened yesterday in a compelling Active Nation Scottish Cup quarter-final.

Having capitulated in December when they were crushed 7-1, Dundee United displayed real character on their return to Govan as they fought back from a 3-1 deficit to earn a fully merited replay at Tannadice on 24 March.

In front of the second lowest attendance of the season at Ibrox, as the early afternoon kick-off and live terrestrial television coverage persuaded thousands to stay away, cup holders Rangers were undone by both United's resilience and their own uncharacteristically sloppy defending.

All the credit belonged to Peter Houston's men whose determination to overcome any manner of setback was impressive. They lost Argentine striker Damian Casalinuovo to injury after just three minutes but went ahead through his replacement Andis Shala.

They then went behind as Kris Boyd, their five-goal tormentor in the previous meeting of the teams, converted two penalty kicks which were both in the contentious category. But even when Nacho Novo extended Rangers lead early in the second half, United refused to buckle and were more than worthy of taking the tie back to Tayside, an outcome achieved by Steven Whittaker's own goal and Swiss defender Mihael Kovacevic's first-ever goal for the Tannadice club.

United's opener had also been a calamity for Whittaker as the Rangers full-back's needless attempt to find one of his team-mates with a pass across the face of his own penalty area merely succeeded in gifting possession to John Daly. The big Irish striker shuttled the ball onto Shala who strode forward and guided a low shot beyond the exposed Allan McGregor from around 14 yards.

Before the vociferous visiting support could fully nourish thoughts of their side causing an upset, however, Rangers were level from the first of the two spot-kicks awarded to them by referee Dougie McDonald, back at Ibrox for the first time since last month's Old Firm fixture, before the interval. Despite protests from the United players, there initially seemed little doubt McDonald had called it correctly when Kenny Miller was taken down by Dusan Pernis.

The Rangers striker had burst clear following neat play between Lee McCulloch and Steven Davis after United midfielder Morgaro Gomis had carelessly given the ball away. Miller poked the ball wide of Pernis and the Slovakian goalkeeper sent him crashing to the turf. Television replays later suggested Pernis had got an almost imperceptible touch on the ball. Once given, however, it should have been an even costlier incident for United but McDonald decided a yellow card was sufficient punishment for Pernis. Boyd made a typically efficient job of the kick.

It was Boyd himself who earned his team's second penalty two minutes from half-time and United's sense of grievance was far stronger on this occasion. Sasa Papac clipped a cross into the box where Boyd went down under Sean Dillon's challenge. The United full-back claimed it had been nothing more than an accidental coming together, although he did raise a hand onto Boyd's back. McDonald pointed to the spot without hesitation. Boyd smashed his kick to Pernis' left as the goalkeeper dived the other way.

The tie looked to have swung irretrievably away from United at the start of the second-half when, less than a minute after Craig Conway had struck McGregor's crossbar with a dipping shot from 25 yards, Rangers went 3-1 in front. A Steven Davis pass released Novo on the right of the United penalty area and the Spanish striker's low shot, which was netbound anyway, struck the backtracking Garry Kenneth on its way in.

But there remained an ebb and flow to the match which encouraged United to retain hope they could salvage the situation if they scored the next goal. That they did in bizarre fashion in the 63rd minute. A Gomis volley was certainly heading a few yards off target but it prompted an instinctive reaction from Whittaker whose headed interception in the penalty area saw him spectacularly divert the ball into his own net.

There was now an edginess in Rangers play, most evident in the uncertainty of McGregor at cross balls. It proved a costly flaw as United equalised with 10 minutes remaining. McGregor flapped at a Conway free-kick from the left, forcing the concession of a corner which the United winger ran across to take from the right. Shala rose to meet it, crashing a header off the crossbar. With the Rangers defence slow to react, Kovacevic pounced to nod the rebound home from close range. If anything, it was United who looked more likely to snatch a winner in the closing stages, although a draw was the correct outcome on the balance of play.