Rangers 1–1 Queen of the South: Gers denied

THE need for short-term action to spark long-term progress at Rangers was laid bare for Dave King’s new board as further ground was lost in the bid for a return to the Premiership.
Rangers' Nicky Law, left, holds off Kevin Holt. Picture: SNSRangers' Nicky Law, left, holds off Kevin Holt. Picture: SNS
Rangers' Nicky Law, left, holds off Kevin Holt. Picture: SNS

Scorers: Rangers - Vukic (77); Queen of the South - Smith (86)

The first home game since King swept to power fell flat as Kenny McDowall’s tenure as caretaker manager oversaw another damaging result.

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A goal from 17-year-old substitute Aidan Smith four minutes from time cancelled out Haris Vuckic’s strike to earn a merited share of the spoils for Queen of the South. Rangers have now won just three of their ten games under McDowall since he reluctantly replaced Ally McCoist. They’ve dropped 12 points in the eight league fixtures they have played in that spell.

That leaves Rangers still two points behind second-placed Hibs in the Championship table. For King, flanked by returning club icon John Greig in the directors’ box, finding a new manager may just have become more of a priority.

The pre-match atmosphere may have been more buoyant than it has for some time – the crowd of 35,018 was the second highest of the season – but no amount of optimism surrounding the boardroom changes can disguise the current state of affairs on the pitch.

Rangers’ promotion prospects have appeared increasingly questionable in recent weeks and Saturday’s dismal goalless draw at Cowdenbeath did nothing to suggest regime change would provide an immediate galvanising effect on the team.

McDowall’s response to the Central Park flop was to drop both Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd to the bench, an indication of how badly both strikers have struggled to recapture former glories at the club.

Jon Daly was drafted in to lead the line with support from Nicky Clark, while Andy Murdoch was recalled in midfield.

Although the hosts did most of the early pressing, the bulk of their work lacked cohesion and imagination, as has been the case for most of the season.

Clark did come close in the fourth minute, flashing a shot just wide after latching onto Nicky Law’s cutback but Queen of the South keeper Zander Clark was barely troubled in the first half. He did have to clutch a close range header from Clark after his defence were unable to properly clear a corner from Vuckic, the on-loan Newcastle United midfielder who was again Rangers’ most creative presence.

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Vuckic did finally cause some anxiety for the Queens No 1 with a 20-yard shot which took a deflection off Danny Carmichael, leaving Clark only able to parry the ball into the path of Daly. But the big Irish striker was unable to react quickly enough and clumsily scooped it over.

As Rangers laboured, it was the Dumfries side who almost made the breakthrough in the 30th minute. Lee McCulloch’s missed defensive header allowed Gavin Reilly to break free and square the ball to Michael Paton who outpaced Marius Zaliukas before guiding his shot against Lee Robinson’s right-hand post.

There was another glorious chance for Paton seven minutes later when Robinson could only divert Iain Russell’s shot into his path but the forward headed over from close range.

Vuckic responded for Rangers with a rising shot narrowly over from 20 yards but the generally blunt efforts of the home side were greeted with a chorus of jeers on the half-time whistle.

Daly came close with a glancing header from a Lee Wallace cross five minutes after the restart as Rangers attempted to inject greater attacking purpose into their play. But momentum proved elusive for the home side who were simply too ragged in possession to build any rhythm.

Although Queens seemed content to play for a point, they always carried a threat on the break. Paton had not been discouraged by his earlier misses and came close with a couple of decent efforts from distance.

Rangers introduced 18-year-old Tom Walsh for only his second first team appearance, replacing Murdoch in midfield, and he did bring a spark of energy and invention. But a goalless stalemate seemed the most likely outcome until Queens were suddenly undone at the back with 13 minutes remaining. They failed to deal with a cross from the left, the ball cannoning between Vuckic and Clark before dropping back into the path of the Slovenian, who turned and steered a low right foot shot into corner from around eight yards.

The reaction from the home fans was a combination of delight and relief but their frustration would soon return as Queens’ 86th minute equaliser was a defensive calamity.

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Bilel Mohsni, on for the injured Wallace, lost possession to Danny Carmichael. His cross found Paton, whose shot was saved by Robinson but Smith pounced to drive the ball home.

Rangers: Robinson, McGregor, Zaliukas, McCulloch, Wallace (Mohsni 82); Murdoch (Walsh 65), Hutton; Law, Clark, Vuckic; Daly (Boyd 79). Subs not used: Simonsen, Black, Miller, Shiels.

Queen of the South: Clark, Kidd, Higgins, Dowie, Holt; Carmichael, McShane, Millar (McKenna 76), Paton (Pickard 90); Reilly (Smith 83), Russell. Subs not used: Atkinson, Mitchell, Pickard, Hooper.