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James Tavernier’s late goal earned Rangers a 2-2 draw with Dundee United at Ibrox as the interim manager, Steven Smith, got a taste of the fragility which has dogged the club all season.
The under-19s coach was taking the reins for the first time while the Light Blues search for a new manager to replace the sacked Russell Martin, with former Rangers player Kevin Muscat set to take over. Improvement under Smith was immediate and after 25 minutes Thelo Aasgaard scored a terrific first goal since signing from Luton in the summer.
However, Jim Goodwin’s side came back into the game after the break and the substitute Kristijan Trapanovski drew the sides level in the 67th minute before Craig Sibbald scored in the 75th with a wonderful strike from distance. But Tavernier equalised with a fine finish in the 86th minute, and six added minutes could not bring a winner for either team, leaving the home side with just one win in eight Premiership fixtures.
Smith, who had two spells as a player at Ibrox, told his players before kick-off to “be brave, take responsibility. Trust the information given and execute the gameplan” and they certainly started in a positive fashion. However, the Rangers ultras group in the Copland stand, Union Bears, displayed a message on banners which appeared to be aimed at the players: “No more buses to hide on. No more managers to hide behind. Face your failures like men”.
Initially, United’s goalkeeper Yevhenii Kucherenko did not see too much action, although he was happy in the 17th minute to see a long-range drive from Tavernier just clear the bar. However, when Aasgaard took a deft touch from Djeidi Gassama on the left, he skipped past Bert Esselink and Luca Stephenson before curling the ball into the far corner of the net. Kucherenko made another couple of good saves from Aasgaard and one from attacker Oliver Antman as the home side pressed for the second.
At half-time, another banner was unfurled from the Sandy Jardine stand which was aimed at the chief executive, Patrick Stewart, and the sporting director, Kevin Thelwell. It read, “Stewart, Thelwell pack your bags and go before we pack them for you”. United began to pose more problems for the home side and Trapanovski came off the bench for Amar Fatah in the 65th minute then immediately fired low past Jack Butland from the edge of the box. Then, after Butland had made a crucial save from Zac Sapsford, the visitors recycled the ball and Sibbald curled a shot from 25 yards high past the Rangers keeper.
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The hosts battled to get back on level terms and once again it was Tavernier who came to the rescue, walking on to a pass from Mikey Moore and guiding the ball high into the net from the edge of the box. Butland then made a crucial save from Trapanovski as the game swung from end to end but there was to be no winner for either side.
