Rangers' seven-game winning run came to an end with a 2-2 draw at Dens Park, as they failed to overtake Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership. The Glasgow giants were twice pegged back after taking the lead, with poor defending proving costly on Tayside.
Slack defending proves costly
Bradley Fink opened the scoring for Dundee, taking advantage of sloppy play to round Ivor Pandur and find the bottom corner. The home side's lead was cancelled out before the break when Badredine Bouanani rifled a thunderous effort into the top corner on his first start for the club.
Nico Raskin put Rangers in front with a stunning strike from 30 yards, but more slack play allowed Callum Jones to rob Dan Neil and curl the ball beyond Pandur to level the match.
Early chances at both ends
The first clear chance of the game fell to Min-su Kim, whose volleyed shot bounced off the hand of Ryan Astley. The Dundee defender was cleared by the referee and VAR after the ball had hit his knee first. At the other end, Ashley Hay watched his powerful header from a corner cannon off Pandur's crossbar.
Bouanani was lively throughout, weaving through the Dark Blues defence and setting up Djeidi Gassama, only for the cross to be frantically cleared. He also played in Dujon Sterling, who found Dan Neil on the edge of the box, but the skipper saw a poor effort drift by the post.
Rangers push for a winner
After the break, Rangers applied pressure as Kim saw his effort tipped by the post by Owen Goodman. Bouanani was denied one-on-one for his second, and substitute Findlay Curtis saw his chip cleared off the line after Goodman misjudged a long ball.
The draw means Rangers face an uncomfortable afternoon on Sunday as Celtic and Hearts battle it out at Celtic Park, with top spot conceded under the Dens Park spotlight.
Bouanani impresses on first start
Bouanani, a deadline day arrival on loan from Stuttgart, had managed just four appearances off the bench before this match. The 21-year-old Algerian came into the side to replace Kevin Kelsy, with Kim pushed into a more central role. He looked lively throughout, pinging balls in from the right at every opportunity and impressing with his overall display and goal.
Ryan Naderi struggled as the lone frontman, having trouble holding the ball up and linking play on his own in attack, looking a frustrated figure throughout the 90 minutes. The defensive unit that Derek McInnes had built his winning run on fell apart, with Sterling failing to deal with Hay and Neil caught on the ball by Jones.
Dundee, managed by Steven Pressley, went into the fixture in fourth spot with back-to-back wins and showed why Scottish football should be paying attention, harrying and hassling Rangers throughout the game. A deserved point in the end.
