Rangers extras: Dundee script, why appoint Kevin Clancy, Michael Mols reception, don't mention the P word

There was plenty to digest after an eventful afternoon in Govan between Rangers and Dundee

Rangers defeated Dundee 3-1 in the cinch Premiership yesterday thanks to goals from Cyriel Dessers, James Tavernier and Abdallah Sima to cancel out Amadou Bakayoko’s early opener. Alan Pattullo was at Ibrox and picks out some extras from the afternoon in Govan:

Following the script

Players come and go, fortunes rise and fall, but it’s somewhat reassuring to be reminded that football fixtures often follow a set pattern stretching back decades providing the teams are in the same division. Take Rangers v Dundee, for example. As the matchday programme informed readers on Saturday in its On This Day segment, the same two sides had met 101 years earlier at Ibrox.

Cyriel Dessers found the net once again for Rangers against Dundee.

“A 4-1 over Dundee at Ibrox sees Rangers leapfrog the Dark Blues to go top of the table by a point,” writes the author of the feature while looking back to 1922. On the corresponding weekend 50 years ago, meanwhile, the same sides were due to meet again. At Dens Park this time. However, heavy snow caused chaos to the weekend fixture list, and the match was one of several around the country called off.

Not that those of a Dundee persuasion would have been too concerned. Indeed, they might have been filling wheelbarrows with snow and dumping the contents onto the Dens pitch given the following weekend's assignment. Just as Rangers were hoping they might not pick up any more injuries yesterday ahead of next weekend’s League Cup final v Aberdeen, Dundee had similar worries in 1973. They were due to meet Celtic in the League Cup final the following weekend and relished an unscheduled weekend off.

Similarly, Rangers might have wished the heavy rain that fell throughout Scotland on Saturday had been even more extreme, or indeed was heavy snow instead, thereby increasing the likelihood of a postponement. Jose Cifuentes, who was red carded against Dundee, would then be free to play against Aberdeen at Hampden. As it stands, with an appeal possibly pending, the midfielder misses the showpiece occasion due to suspension. His yellow card following a poor challenge on Amadou Bakayoko was upgraded to red following a VAR review.

No such things existed in 1973 of course. For the record, a rested Dundee beat Celtic 1-0 in a final played in the early afternoon due to the energy crisis. Foul weather put a further dent in the occasion and restricted the crowd to just under 30,000, the lowest-ever for a League Cup final. Dundee prevailed in the wind and sleet thanks to Gordon Wallace’s well taken goal, which consigned Celtic to their fourth-successive League Cup final defeat.

The appointment of Kevin Clancy to this fixture raised eyebrows given what happened at Dens Park.

Slightly bleakly for Dundee fans, next weekend will mark half a century since the Dens Park club last won a major trophy.

Was Clancy a wise move?

Scotland is a small place. Its pool of referees is naturally small too – or at least smaller than many places elsewhere, where officials can be spread around more. But even so, was it really necessary to appoint Kevin Clancy to referee Saturday’s fixture fewer than six weeks after he had officiated at the same fixture, albeit at Dens Park?

It seemed especially strange given he was at the centre of a storm in that match at the beginning of last month when he impeded Luke McCowan just as the Dundee forward looked was about to take possession of the ball. Rangers immediately broke upfield and scored their fourth goal through Dessers (they ended up winning 5-0). It left Dundee baffled why Clancy hadn’t simply stopped play and ordered a drop ball. It later emerged that the referee is only obligated to stop play if the ball has hit him or her.

Former Rangers forward Michael Mols salutes the Ibrox crowd.

Still, Clancy was on a hiding to nothing at Ibrox yesterday with Rangers fans suspecting he was ‘evening things up’ when he sent off Cifuentes in time added on in the first half for a mistimed challenge that saw the midfielder scrape his studs on Bakayoko’s leg. The referee had, though, already given a fairly soft penalty to Rangers after some wrestling between Aaron Donnelly and Abdallah Sima. Maybe it would have been prudent to avoid such conjecture about Clancy’s motivation for making certain decisions by simply giving the referee another fixture elsewhere. But maybe that’s too sensible for the Scottish football authorities.

Mols gets great ovation

It was great to see Michael Mols at Ibrox on Saturday looking fit and well. He was the Rangers legend invited to conduct the half-time draw. Often the former player involved, while treated to respectful applause, is afforded only limited attention as fans shuffle off to buy pies or engage in other half-time rituals. Not on this occasion, however. It was apparent from the moment the former striker was introduced that someone regarded as Ibrox royalty was in the house.

It was a touching episode amid the usual moans and groans about things such as refereeing decisions that really do not matter in the real world. Just ask Mols. He is continuing his recovery after brain tumour surgery in Amsterdam in October, news that took the football world by surprise when he posted on social media about it from his hospital bed. He was given a rapturous reception in Govan, as he always is, recent health scare or not. “I have goose pimples!” the 52-year-old exclaimed into the microphone as Rangers fans hailed the man synonymous with goals.

Dessers is no Coisty – yet

Not so synonymous with goals – not yet, at least – is Dessers. The striker is taking his time to find his feet at Ibrox although Dundee might query this statement. He has scored both times he has played the Dens Park since his summer arrival. Depending on how long he hangs around at Ibrox, he might threaten Rangers’ all-time top goalscorer against Dundee.

The player in question – Ally McCoist, surprise, surprise – featured in the half-time quiz in the matchday programme. “How many times did Coisty hit the Dark Blues’ net?” fans were asked, with the choice being 17, 27 or 37 times. The right answer is a remarkable 27 – McCoist always said Dens Park was his favourite away ground, because of the good surface and size of pitch.

Maybe Dessers will become a hammer of the Dark Blues in time. Despite the very obvious misgivings of a large section of the Ibrox support, two in two is not a bad start.

Ahem, the pryo?

The packed Rangers matchday programme was a source of much good material on Saturday, although in one specific case it was what was left out that caught the eye. Philippe Clement’s manager’s notes saw him welcome Dundee in traditional fashion, before reflecting on the last meeting between the sides of Dens Park. It was, he said, memorable for a variety of reasons, including being his first league away match since his appointment as Rangers manager.

Others might remember it more for being when visiting fans made the Bob Shankly Stand glow more fiercely than the Mossmorran petrochemical plant across the water in Fife with a synchronised pyro display, forcing the players off the pitch as a result. This after the match had been already heavily delayed by the Ibrox side turning up just 25 just minutes before the scheduled kick-off due to a traffic accident.

“It was a bit of a crazy night, let’s just say that,” noted Clement. “A road accident held up the team bus and then the start of the game was delayed further, but following these disruptions I thought my players’ concentration was impressive as was the overall performance that evening.” Just don't mention the pyro!