RANGERS clinched their first Premiership win of the new campaign with a 2-1 triumph over Dundee this afternoon.
First half goals from Harry Forrester and Kenny Miller were enough for Mark Warburton’s side as they bounced back from their opening day stalemate against Hamilton at Ibrox.
Mark O’Hara brought Dundee back into the game just before the interval but the Light Blues saw the game out to earn a deserved three points.
Boss Warburton made three changes to the side that drew with Accies last weekend as Danny Wilson, Jordan Rossiter and Forrester all came into the starting line-up.
It was a low key opening to the action on Tayside and an Andy Halliday effort that was gathered by Scott Bain was the only chance as both teams struggled to find their rhythm.
Just minutes later, Rangers found the net, though, as Forrester fired Warburton’s side in front.
Barrie McKay played the ball into James Tavernier and when his cross was blocked McKay made sure he kept the move alive in the area. Forrester finished it off as he rifled a shot high into Bain’s net.
It was a goal that Rangers deserved but one they couldn’t add to until a frantic end to the first half.
Halliday saw another shot saved before Wes Foderingham held a Danny Williams effort.
At the other end, Forrester twice came close as he fired just over after meeting a Wallace pass from the left and then he clipped the bar with a header from a Tavernier cross from the opposite flank.
On 39 minutes, Rangers got the second goal that they had been pushing for and it was another neat move that split the Dees defence as Wallace found Miller and the striker made no mistake with a clinical finish.
The 36-year-old should have clinched the points just seconds later when he collected a neat pass from McKay but Bain gathered the ball as Miller looked to evade him in the area.
It was a job well done until that point from the Gers but a defensive lapse cost them on the stroke of half time as Paul Hartley’s side hauled themselves back into the game.
O’Hara rose highest in the area to meet a Williams corner and he headed the ball beyond Foderingham as Rangers ended the first period with their advantage halved.
The game was more of a contest than it should have been and Rangers needed the third goal to give themselves a bit of breathing space.
Dundee weren’t at their best but they were still in the game. Rangers saw plenty of the ball, yet clear chances proved harder to come by after the interval.
Warburton introduced Joe Dodoo and Niko Kranjcar in place of Miller and Halliday just after the hour. Michael O’Halloran would follow as he replaced Forrester after a couple of challenges that upset the Dens Park crowd.
They were almost on their feet when Foderingham picked out Yordi Teijsse with a slack clearance but the Gers keeper made up for his error with a comfortable save from a weak effort.
Dundee looked the more likely to get the fourth goal of the afternoon and Danny Wilson had to clear a Williams cross over his own bar as Hartley’s side pressed for a leveller.
The final stages were end-to-end and McKay almost clinched it for Rangers as he burst in behind the Dees defence but his low shot was narrowly wide of the far corner.
It didn’t prove costly for Warburton’s side, though, as Rangers saw the game out to move on to four points in the Premiership standings.
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