Nip and tuck as Rangers stay top

ANOTHER Saturday and another penalty lament for Peter Houston. Last week it was Scotland who were left to rue spot-kick errors, this week it was his club side Dundee United who felt hard done by. Danny Swanson was booked for a dive 20 minutes into this well-matched encounter, and while the initial impression was that the winger had made a meal of matters, both he and his manager insisted the claim was legitimate.

“I have now seen it a number of times and, in my opinion, it was a stonewall penalty kick,” said Houston. “So I’m disappointed with the decision.”

On another day it might not have mattered. At that stage the Tannadice side were still in with a great shout of taking something from the match, such was their industry and invention, but within ten minutes that chance became a long-shot when they were reduced to ten men.

This gave grateful Rangers the breathing space they desperately needed and allowed them to control the majority of possession in the second half, and while Rangers did finally convert that into something tangible, they never really put the game completely beyond their hosts.

Steven Naismith and Steve Davis had missed when it seemed almost impossible, Naismith ballooning over from close range in the first half and Davis’ second-half effort hitting off the inside of one post, scooting along the goal-line and then coming back out off the other post. And even the eventual hero, Kyle Lafferty, had squandered openings before he nabbed his ninth goal in nine SPL starts.

It was a game where the statistics favoured the travelling team. Sitting top of the table, they had yet to concede an away goal in the Scottish Premier League this season, while United were still trying to find their rhythm and searching for their first home win of the new campaign.

But, while the majority of the Tannadice side were refreshed from the international break, Rangers were feeling the strain. Striker Nickica Jelavic was ruled out with an injury sustained while away with Croatia, and others had only managed a few days’ recovery after action in national colours. Lafferty ensured that eventually neither of those factors mattered.

It was a goal probably merited on the overall play and it came in the 61st minute when the irrepressible Gregg Wylde sent in a cross for him to glance back across the face of goal and into Dusan Pernis’ net.

“It was another top-class finish from Lafferty,” said his delighted manager. “I always look at boys who score goals and you get different types of scorers. But I always think the best one are those who score the important goals. And that was an important goal. I’m really pleased, we’ve been to some tough places since the start of the season and none tougher than here. I feel we deserved three points.”

He acknowledged that the sending off was the turning point, though. “It was a moment of madness from a great young prospect. He made a mistake, you can’t do that. But when you don’t get a second goal you always feel under pressure as was the case today. They caused problems with Dixon’s long throw-ins and Kenneth’s threat in the air at set pieces.”

There has been criticism of United manager Houston in the past, when his return from Scotland coaching duty have co-incided with sub-par showings by his Tannadice side, but if either of these teams were looking lacklustre it was the guests as they found themselves in an open game, which ebbed and flowed even as they enjoyed the luxury of an extra man. That was thanks to the ridiculously churlish reactions of young Johnny Russell, who responded to a Kirk Broadfoot push by squaring up to the full-back, going face to face, and subsequently being dispatched to the dressing room.

“Johnny will be disciplined, but he’s a young boy and hopefully he will learn from it,” said his manager. “He still had his strip on at full-time sitting the same way as he was at the end. He didn’t hurt the Rangers player, but he motioned his head forward and I’ve no issue with the referee’s decision. I thought about running on the park and throttling Johnny, but he’s done us a good turn in the past so I’ll settle for speaking to him about it. He needs to be rid of the immature side of him because it’s cost us today.”

Few would contest that. While Rangers eventually took a grip of the match in the second half and grabbed the goal that ultimately separated the sides – allowing them to extend their unbeaten run in domestic football and ensure they go into next weekend’s Old Firm match top of the league – the question is how much different things might have been had it remained 11-a-side. Enough of the United players were up for it, taking the game to Rangers while giving little away.

For United, Willo Flood’s early shot was deflected just wide, Swanson skelped a shot that forced a save from Allan McGregor, while the arial superiority of Garry Kenneth at set pieces resulted in a couple of headers just missing the target and then Kirk Braodfoot had to make a vital block when Paul Dixon cross was zipped in for Lauri Dalla Valle, the recent loan acquisition from Fulham.

This painted a picture of a difficult afternoon to come for Rangers, but Russell’s sending-off left Rangers to get on with things and United to rue what might have been.