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Published: 20th February 2022
United hosted Giovanni van Brockhorst’s Rangers for the second time this season, with both teams coming into the match off the back of consecutive victories. The away side had experienced a change in manager since the last time they came to Tannadice, Steven Gerrard in charge for our 1-0 victory in August which came courtesy of Academy graduate Jamie Robson’s half-volley on the hour mark.
Tam Courts made one change to the side which progressed to the last eight of the Scottish Cup, experience traded for experience as Charlie Mulgrew returned from injury in place of Kevin McDonald. The visitors also made the sole change with Filip Helander replacing Borna Barisic in defence.
The opening stages saw United with the majority of possession, allowed to circulate the ball around the back four and midfield three under little to no pressure. Mulgrew repeatedly attempted sending it into the channels for Ian Harkes, Ilmari Niskanen and Tony Watt to chase but the ball was frequently caught by the wind and blown behind for a goal kick.
After a high-octane ten minutes of relentless pressure on the Rangers defence and midfield, United naturally dropped the intensity allowing Calvin Bassey and Ryan Kent in particular to drive their team forward by doubling up on the isolated Liam Smith at right-back.
Kent and Bassey combined down the left with the ball ending up at the feet of the latter in an advanced position. The winger jinked inside Ryan Edwards and Smith and, just as he was about to go for goal, Ross Graham flew across the box to clatter the ball to safety.
Marc McNulty’s ability to play with his back to goal earned United a free-kick in a dangerous position on the 13th minute, taking a first-time touch across Helander and drawing a foul. Mulgrew looked as if he would have a strike but intelligently stroked the ball five yards into the unmarked Harkes advancing down the right. He looked to drill it into a crowded box but Ryan Jack was present to intervene.
From the resultant corner, the visitors broke. Kent nipped a 50/50 away from Mulgrew and raced into the United half before feeding Scott Arfield to his right. The Canadian international looked for Alfredo Morelos alongside him but his colleague’s touch deserted him and Benji Siegrist was off his line quickly to snuff out the danger.
Bassey found himself on the left of the box and twisted inside the despairing Smith and clipped the ball towards Morelos on the six-yard line. The Columbian teed up James Tavernier with his first-touch who thumped the ball into the Shed on the half-volley.
Academy graduate Graham was in the thick of it soon after, as he blocked shots from Arfield and Kent in quick succession following a loose pass from Dylan Levitt.
United countered through Niskanen after a challenge on McNulty led to the ball falling perfectly for him to burst past Helander. Niskanen burned his opponent for pace before chopping inside him and shooting, but his effort deflected agonisingly wide of the post off Tavernier.
The hosts were now in firm control of the match, compressing play into the attacking third and stroking the ball around the 18-yard box nonchalantly, Rangers reduced to chasing shadows.
United’s dominance would pay off on the half-hour mark as they drew first blood. Levitt’s inswinging corner was met powerfully by the head of Graham and the ball flew past the helpless McGregor to send Tannadice into raptures, a dream moment for the boyhood Arab.
Rangers turned up the heat towards the break but couldn’t carve out a clear-cut opportunity, Jack’s shot from the right of the box rebounding off Mulgrew the closest they came.
After the interval, it was largely one-way traffic aside from a tangerine opportunity on the 50th minute. Harkes ran across the park and fired the ball wide for Niskanen to have a run at Tavernier. He did this successfully and sent a cross skidding into the path of McNulty who ran across the blindside of Conor Goldson and prodded it on target, McGregor getting down quickly and saving well.
Tavernier’s set-piece delivery proved a threat as he picked out Joe Aribo making a near-post run. His flicked header forced Siegrist into making a fabulous reaction save, with the loose ball being scrambled away from Fashion Sakala.
The introduction of Sakala to the Rangers ranks brought a new problem for wingback Niskanen and left-sided centre-back Ross Graham to deal with, his pace and trickery often allowing him time to flash the ball across the area. The United duo marshalled him well though, forcing him as wide as possible to limit his influence on proceedings.
Two Sakala crosses narrowly evaded Morelos in the middle and then Kent left Smith for dead with a sharp turn on the halfway line. The former Liverpool man drove towards the box and shifted onto his left away from Edwards before sending a shot skidding inches wide of Siegrist’s far-post, Morelos just arriving too late in the middle to touch it into the empty net.
Rangers’ pressure would eventually tell after 75 minutes. The overload on the left between Kent and Bassey paid off, the latter catching the ball just before it crossed the line and cutting it back for the advancing Aribo and he struck it into the top corner, Siegrist getting a glove to it but not able to keep it from hitting the net.
This galvanised the Gers further, waves of blue swamping forward into the attacking third. Sakala cut in from the left and sent his strike a few yards over the crossbar, and then Kent did the same but struck narrowly wide of the post.
This was the closest Rangers came to taking all three points to Glasgow, unable to breakdown the formidable tangerine backline, United riding out the storm to claim a well-deserved draw. The result sees Tam Courts’ men move up into fifth position in the cinch Premiership, still heavily in the mix for a Europa Conference League slot.
