Rangers goalkeeper Ivor Pandur has leapt to the defence of captain Dan Neil after his costly mistake allowed Dundee to snatch a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw at Dens Park on Saturday night.
Just 34 days after scoring two derby goals in the Premier Sports Cup win over Celtic, Neil was caught in possession in his own half by Callum Jones, who slotted past Pandur to level the match. The error prevented Rangers from going top of the Premiership table, for 24 hours at least.
Pandur: Mistakes happen in football
But Croatian keeper Pandur refused to put any blame on the Rangers midfielder afterwards. He says if the team are going to achieve anything this season, they'll do it by being together - rather than singling out individuals during tough moments.
Instead, Pandur hailed Neil as one of the key players in the Ibrox dressing-room. And he believes Rangers should have had the game wrapped up long before his captain's lapse in concentration.
The 26-year-old said: "Mistakes will happen in football. It's a game of beautiful moments and of mistakes. One day it's one, another day it's the other. But we're not a team who points fingers. As a whole, we created a lot and should have scored more. But it's not about individuals here."
"You cannot take anything for granted in football. The reality is Dan is a great guy, an unbelievable player and really important for our team. That's the reality. If he makes a mistake or scores a goal, that doesn't change. He'll continue to be important for us. It can happen to everybody and it does. For us, it's about not getting into that position where one mistake really costs us the game. We could have been more in front and had an easier ending to the game."
Bouanani and Raskin stunners
The contrast between Neil's horror moment and Rangers' two goals against Dundee was stark. After falling behind, the team needed its big players to come up with something special and they did.
Badredine Bouanani, on just his second start for the club, justified his selection with a brilliant equaliser before half-time at Dens. The Algerian produced a trademark finish into the top corner after cutting in from the right flank - the kind of goal that earned him a £13 million move to Stuttgart just over a year ago.
But if that was good, Nico Raskin's was even better. The midfielder isn't renowned for his long-range shooting, but the dip and curl he managed to get on a 25-yard effort that nestled in the top corner is something Pandur has rarely seen before.
Goalkeeper rues missed winner
The goalie just wishes it would have been Rangers' winner. He was irked afterwards that Neil's mistake was being discussed more than Raskin's wonder goal. But he's convinced that it won't be the last time this season we see the Belgian conjure up a moment of magic.
He said: "I haven't seen a better goal than Nico's for a long time. That was supposed to be THE moment. That hurts me even more. That should have been the moment people talk about after the game. He scored an unbelievable goal and, like Dan, he's really important for us. He's also a great guy and that will have taken a bit out of him. But Nico will have more of those moments, and winning ones as well."
The last time Rangers dropped Premiership points on Tayside, they didn't win for four games in all competitions. That was on the opening day of the season when the side drew with Dundee United. Friday night's slip-up ended a seven-game winning run for Rangers and it will be the manager's job to ensure they quickly recover and don't let it halt the momentum they'd built up.
Pandur feels the squad is better equipped now to deal with a setback than they were in August. He's adamant the team spirit they've fostered since then will see them dust themselves down, fix what went wrong at Dens Park - and be ready for Saturday's Premiership clash with St Johnstone at Ibrox.
Pandur said: "Yeah (we're in a better place now than after Tannadice game in Aug). We have togetherness and a good feeling between each other. We all support each other and we can get through this moment easily. We just need to get our heads down, see what was wrong and what can be done better to control the game a little bit more. That's why we have a week now to train and improve."
