NafisaRangers supporters made the long trip to Tannadice hoping to witness the perfect start to a new era under Derek McInnes.
Instead, the Light Blues were left with more questions than answers after dropping points on the opening night of the Scottish Premiership season.
There were flashes of promise from several new signings and moments that suggested Rangers are moving in the right direction, but there were also familiar problems that ultimately prevented them from leaving Dundee with all three points.
The result may have extended Rangers’ unbeaten start under their new manager, but it certainly wasn’t the statement performance many supporters had been expecting.
McInnes watched his side fall behind shortly before half-time after Emmanuel Fernandez was dispossessed in midfield, allowing Lachlan Rose to bundle home the opening goal for Dundee United.
Realising changes were needed, the Rangers boss acted decisively during the interval by introducing Dan Neil and Youssef Chermiti.
The substitutions immediately injected fresh energy into the visitors.
Rangers began controlling possession more effectively, and their pressure was eventually rewarded when Michael Forbes’ headed clearance dropped kindly for Thelo Aasgaard, who produced a superb first touch before smashing an unstoppable left-footed effort beyond Jack Walton to restore parity.
Many expected Rangers to kick on from there.
Instead, Dundee United remained a threat, and despite creating 21 attempts throughout the evening, Rangers failed to find the winning goal.
The statistics underlined just how evenly contested the match had been, with Dundee United actually edging the expected goals (xG) battle, recording 1.64 compared to Rangers’ 1.46.
After the final whistle, McInnes admitted his side simply hadn’t done enough to deserve victory.
Speaking to BBC Scotland, he said:
«”I thought the half-time changes helped us, but the approach from the players in the second half was really good.»
«”We wanted to get Thelo Aassgaard in the areas he wants to play in, and Diomande playing off the right. I thought Chermiti helped us as well.»
«”Dan Neil put his foot on the ball for us and got us passing a bit better.»
«”The desire to get the equaliser was clear, and I’ve got to credit the players with that. Then, I don’t feel we did enough after that, and that’s what’s frustrating me.»
«”You see the desire to get the equaliser wasn’t quite mirrored with the desire to go and get the winner. I just thought we played in fits and started after that.»
«”What we need to do when we look in charge is make sure we don’t make silly mistakes and give the opponent encouragement.»
«”After the equaliser, for five minutes I felt we made too many little mistakes and needed to communicate better and deal with that situation better.”»
The Rangers manager later delivered an even more honest assessment of the performance, insisting the draw was a fair reflection of the contest.
«”We worked hard to get back into it, but I don’t think we were good enough to win the game.»
«”I thought the point was the right scoreline and we’re disappointed with that. First half, we wasted a lot, we didn’t create too much, and it was a bit too frantic.»
«”We never really connected the game well enough or looked after the ball well enough, and we lost a poor goal from our point of view.”»
Despite the frustration, there were positives for McInnes to build on.
Lawrence Shankland, Ivor Pandur, Cameron Devlin and Ross McCrorie all showed encouraging signs during their competitive Rangers debuts, while Aasgaard’s stunning equaliser highlighted the quality now available within the squad.
Attention now quickly turns to Europe, where Rangers face Jagiellonia Bialystok in the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying tie before returning to Premiership action against Hibernian.
McInnes knows significant improvements will be required if Rangers are to challenge on multiple fronts this season, but his first competitive outing has already provided a clear picture of the areas his side must sharpen in the weeks ahead.
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