For Rangers, two dropped points at Tannadice looked for much of Saturday afternoon like a point gained over Celtic. Alas, a pair of Old Firm draws preserved the status quo atop the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.
Dundee United awoke from a 45-minute slumber to preserve the unpredictable yet plentiful nature of this fixture. Hearts maintained their meaty run of form with a 1-1 draw against Celtic and, thus, two games confirmed a genuine title race and a keen contest for third place.
"We had a great second half and were crap in the first half," said Craig Levein, whose succinct and occasionally damning verdicts might win him a place on the X Factor judging panel. Walter Smith was more reserved on his team's failure to hold on a to a lead. "We are conceding a softer level of goal than last season," the Rangers manager observed. Soft? Rangers' defending has been so soft that signing the Andrex labrador puppy in the January window would give them more bite.
An interesting scene after the concession of United's second goal gave an indication of the trust issues that are undermining Rangers' championship challenge. After the umpteenth accurate cross from Paul Dixon, the hosts' excellent left-back, was nodded in by Warren Feeney, Allan McGregor instigated a one-sided inquest.
The goalkeeper, hardly speaking from a position of strength, berated Steven Whittaker for persistently failing to close down the over-lapping full back. He then motioned his central defenders, Kirk Broadfoot and David Weir, to do their stuff further up the field. Easier said than done. Whittaker has returned to his favoured position in the past fortnight but has reaffirmed that while he is a more naturally athletic full-back than Broadfoot, he does not have the natural instincts to detect danger.
Then there is Weir. It is overly simplistic to suggest age has suddenly crept up on the 38-year-old but there is now mounting evidence that his presence gives greater hope to Rangers' opponents. He is still capable of the heroic swipe and commanding header but the legs are betraying him. It is why Levein played the pacy Feeney up against him and why Willo Flood made a bee-line for him during his many surging runs. He defends so deep that it invites pressure and, while many of McGregor's problems this season have been self-inflicted, it perhaps explains the goalkeeper's edginess.
Injury to Madjid Bougherra was cited by Dixon as the cause for pre-match optimism in the United dressing room and Levein's hunch would be proved correct. In his absence, Rangers were unable to defend what Smith later referred to as "bread and butter crosses".
In fairness to United, and to Dixon in particular, the deliveries were at least of a Warburtons seeded batch quality than a Mother's Pride ootsider. On each occasion, he whooshed the ball towards the back post, with Lee Wilkie and Feeney scoring with a simplicity that vexed the travelling support.
United's recovery demonstrated a strength of character inherent in their manager. They threatened to be swept away by Rangers as Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd wreaked havoc with their complementary skills of labour and larceny.
Boyd's 18th goal of the season made a fool of Mihael Kovacevic. He cushioned Whittaker's cross on his chest, spun his marker and dispatched a ferocious left-foot drive past Lucasz Zaluska. By the time the ball nestled, Kovacevic was on his haunches dazed by the swiftness of the attack.
Dixon prevented a certain second goal for Boyd by desperately poking past his own post. McGregor's only action of the first half was to parry Jon Daly's header after he rose above Whittaker. "The biggest problem is ourselves," said Levein afterwards, no doubt in relation to the act of folly that ought to have been punished more severely. Wilkie's clearance went over his own head and caught out Zaluska. Miller raced clear but was buffeted by both and eventually robbed by the embarrassed captain.
Barry Ferguson and Pedro Mendes had exerted a quiet control during the first half but Flood and Scott Robertson emerged unrecognisable. Their improved output, allied to Dixon and Craig Conway's total dominance on the left side, had Rangers in reverse. Within four second-half minutes the tide had turned. Dixon delivered the artillery and, first, Wilkie stuck out an oar to fizz past McGregor, then Feeney flung his head in front of Lee McCulloch to continue the recovery.
McCulloch's return as an attacking force petered out after a sprightly start but the emergence of Kyle Lafferty and Nacho Novo from the bench spared Rangers. Mendes found Novo, the Spanish substituted shunted the ball outfield and Lafferty's spindly legs went to work. A curious cross between Ted McMinn and Tore Andre Flo, he shuffled past Kovacevic and slid a right-foot shot past Zaluska.
Novo burst clear in search of a winner shortly after but his fun was spoiled by Gary Cheyne, the far-side assistant, who erroneously raised his flag.
