Dundee 2
Rangers 3
League (Premier Division)

Match Report

Rangera turned back the clock a couple of decades at Dens Park and ran Dundee ragged with an exhilarating display of wing play.

Davie Cooper and Willie Johnston twisted the home defence inside out and eventually left them with their tongues hanging out.

Admittedly, Dundee didn't help themselves. Full-backs Cameron and McKimmie never got close enough to the two Ibrox fliers to put in one telling tackle.

It's as well 'keeper Geddes and debutant centre-half Jim Smith produced sterling displays, otherwise Dundee would have suffered a real humiliation.

Incredibly, the opening 25 minutes gave no in dictation of the excitement to follow. There were so many players in the middle of the park early on, it resembled a mass meeting at Longbridge. Then Rangers switched Cooper to the left and Johnston to the right, and, hey presto. What was shaping into a game to forget suddenly became one to remember for Rangers anyway.

After Dundee opened the scoring against the run of play, red-shirted Rangers took over with a vengeance.

Geddes managed to stop a Cooper rocket but couldn't hold it. Robert Russell was on it in a flash and slammed the rebound high into the net. After that, it was a case of how many.

Geddes made a fine tip over from McAdam before half-time. Immediately after the break the 'keeper produced another excellent stop from MacDonald, Then Cameron blocked another MacDonald effort on the line.

As Cooper and Johnston continually beat their men, hitting the line, cutting the ball back, another Rangers goal was avoided only temporarily. So it proved with a John MacDonald brace in two minutes, both following in-swinging, right-wing corners from Johnston.

The first was headed down by McAdam and MacDonald swept the ball into the roof of the net. The second was all his own work, Jumping unattended to head the ball firmly home.

But where, oh, where, was Dundee's marking? The home side were at sixes and sevens around this time. No one seemed to know who was marking who. They had no answer to Rangers' power and pace.

Yet Rangers almost paid dearly for not ramming home their undoubted advantage. Five minutes from the end Cameron played a 1-2 with Mackie, and, as Stewart left his line, Danny cooly chipped him from 15 yards.

Rangers then had to hang on for grim death as Dundee drew everyone forward. But there was to be no fairy-tale ending for this rather disjointed home side. Much earlier they had taken a surprise lead with another fine goal. Geddes threw to Fraser, who released to Mackie on the right lain Ferguson had time to turn on the cross before burying it behind Stewart.

But Dundee shouldn't be kidded by the closeness of this result. They were second to nearly everything. Only Geddes, Smith and McGeachie surprisingly substituted-looked Premier League material,

Rangers had tremendous service from Cooper and Johnston, as I've said Bett, Russell and MacDonald were their other stars. But they'll have to be on their toes more to guard against too much complacency.

Match report written by The Sunday Post