Rangers 2
Dundee 0
League (Premier Division)

Match Report

Newspaper extract from The Courier.

Rangers continued their march towards the Premier League title at Ibrox last night but it took a decision by the referee to help them subdue fighting Dundee.

Showing no signs of a hangover from their Scottish Cup disappointment, the Dark Blues played well and created the better chances until falling behind to a second half Davie Cooper goal which stood despite the fact Ally McCoist was lying yards offside when he netted.

More than 42,000 Rangers fans celebrated the decision of Perth referee Douglas Yeats which set their side en route to victory and a two point lead over Celtic at the top of the table.

Dundee, however, returned home angry and disappointed, convinced they had been cheated of a point for although McCoist added a second goal later on, the match turned on that one dramatic moment.

Choosing his words carefully, manager Jocky Scott said, "I thought we played really well and were unlucky not to get something out of the game.

"Unfortunately players' livelihoods depend on other people who are out with their control."

Dundee began well before having to withstand a period of pressure from the home side.

They created the first real opening when Wright touched a Duffy through ball back into the path of Coyne who brought a fine save out of Woods with a shot from 18 yards.

Rangers responded immediately and McPherson wasted a fine chance, beating Glennie to a Cooper free kick, only to head over.

Geddes was then called into action twice, holding low shots from Durrant and McCoist.

In 18 minutes Durrant squandered a great opening when dithering on the edge of the area before shooting wide.

Dundee weren't out of it in the attacking sense, however.

On one forage forward they had midfielder John Brown booked for fouling McPherson as the pair bored in on goal.

Another Dark Blues attack wasted the best opportunity of the half.

A fine pass from Rafferty from deep inside his own half sent Wright clean through the middle of Rangers rearguard, but the youngster's shot was saved by Woods.

As the interval approached, Rangers stepped up the pressure again.

Fleck turned well inside the six-yard line but couldn't get power into his shot, Geddes saved well from McCoist and Duffy managed to block a powerful Cooper shot.

Then, in the closing seconds of the half, McKinlay, operating in midfield with Glennie at left-back, sent a drive inches over the Rangers bar.

The Ibrox men made a substitution at the restart with Phillips replacing player-boss Graeme Souness and within minutes had a real let off when Smith headed a McGeachie free kick inches wide.

Dundee actually had the ball in Rangers' net in 49 minutes when Coyne nodded home a Rafferty cross but he was correctly ruled offside.

Three minutes later, though, the game really burst into life in dramatic and highly controversial fashion.

The incident began when Geddes could only parry a Phillips cross into the path of Cooper whose powerful shot struck the ground, bounced over the keeper and into the net.

Immediately the stand side linesman raised his flag, for McCoist had been lying on Dundee's goal line when Cooper struck.

However, following consultation with his official, referee Douglas Yeats ruled the Rangers striker had not been interfering with play and confirmed the goal.

Dundee protested vehemently and were punished. Skipper Jim Duffy and midfielder Stuart Rafferty had their names taken and off the field, manager Jocky Scott was ushered back to the dugout by a policeman.

Shortly after sending on Forsyth for Brown in 62 minutes, the Dark Blues almost equalised when Coyne raced in on goal.

But Woods rescued Rangers and in 69 minutes another cruel break saw Dundee fall two behind when a Fleck shot struck Smith and landed perfectly for Ally McCoist who netted via a post.

In the closing stages, Tosh McKinlay and Stuart Munro were booked in separate incidents.

The official attendance was given as 42,427. However, thousands of people were still queueing up when the game kicked off. And, when midway through the first half they had still failed to get in, many of them gave up.

Rangers: Woods; Ferguson, Munro, Souness, McPherson, Butcher, Nicholl, Fleck, McCoist, Durrant, Cooper. Subs: Phillips, West.

Dundee: Geddes; McGeachie, McKinlay, Glennie, Smith, Duffy, Rafferty, Brown, Shannon, Coyne, Wright: Subs.: Forsyth, Jack.

Referee-D. A. Yeats (Perth).