Dundee2
Rangers2
Dundee: Caballero (17, 28)
Rangers: Wilkie (1 og), Arteta (85 pen)
Well, this is all too much. Now we really have a title race on our hands, after Celtic's demolition of Dunfermline on Saturday followed by this Sabbath struggle of Rangers in Dundee. Rangers still lead the SPL but, improbably, should Celtic beat Motherwell on Wednesday night and deal with Hearts next Saturday at Parkhead, Martin O'Neill's team will go from chasing ghosts to being three points clear at the top, at least for 24 hours.
It must all be a bit much for the garrisons among us who proclaimed two weeks ago, following Celtic's collapse at Tynecastle, that the championship was over. Rangers and their legions who followed them to Dundee might beg to differ, but this setback for Alex McLeish's team turns the next three weeks of domestic football into a delicious spectacle.
This match was strewn with incident, almost to a ludicrous degree, involving two goals from Fabian Caballero and two missed penalties, out of three awarded to Rangers, from Barry Ferguson. On top of this, Lee Wilkie will never have a more eventful game in his life.
The big defender, quite preposterously, scored an own goal after 47 seconds and went on to concede two penalties to Rangers, the first for hauling down Michael Mols before the break, and a second, according to a linesman at any rate, for barging Shota Arveladze after 82 minutes. ''It was all a bit of a nightmare,'' said Wilkie, a man who has been living with footballing nightmares recently.
These moments were to produce the freeze-frames of a
surreal encounter. Ferguson smacked his first penalty in the 45th minute against Julian Speroni's bar. Provided with a second opportunity following Wilkie's barge, the Rangers captain this time dunted the ball to Speroni's left, only for the goalkeeper to dive and save.
Seconds later - and by this point it was becoming mind-numbing - the referee John Rowbotham awarded Rangers a third penalty, allegedly for a handball by Dave Mackay, and this time Mikel Arteta cracked the ball past Speroni for Rangers' equaliser. There were just seven minutes remaining.
The most astonishing comment of all later came from Jim Duffy, Dundee's manager, ever as awash with honesty as he is as bald as a coot. ''I thought the referee got the penalties right, or should I say, he got two spot-on and the third more or less correct,'' said Duffy.
Given that all three decisions in some way helped sabotage Dundee's mugging of Rangers, this was honesty indeed. Duffy called this ''a crazy, fabulous match'' which made the tinny stands of Dens Park resound with bile and indignation.
For Alex McLeish, it was one of these gnawing days in which Rangers, presented with plenty opportunities, including a turkey-shoot from the penalty spot, simply couldn't take them. This loss of two points in the title race could well have been three and, if anything, he looked a little relieved later.
''It seems to be a case of one drops points, then the other drops points,'' said the Rangers manager of the Old Firm's race to capture the championship. ''It's proving to be a fantastic battle and there has been some tremendous football seen between us and Celtic. I think it is marvellous for the Scottish game. Certainly, Celtic face a difficult game on Wednesday against Motherwell.''
More than anything, yesterday confirmed again, as if it were required, what a fine job Jim Duffy is doing with his club. Already ensconced in the SPL's top six, Dundee reverted here from their usual 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 and played some sweet, open football which often bothered Rangers. Caballero might look like a pig farmer's hired hand but his chunkiness cannot detract from his athleticism and skill which often cause bleeding among defences.
Dundee must have dreaded the start they made. On a typically foraging run, but as alarmingly early as the opening seconds, Numan's jaunt down the left seemed routine enough, except for the delicious, in-swinging cross which was delivered. The ball was hanging nicely between Wilkie and Speroni at the near post before the defender stuck out a leg and deflected it past his goalkeeper.
Poor Wilkie had an absolute oddity of a match. What with this, and the subsequent penalties he gave away, it would all seem a bit of a mess from the Scotland player. The big defender, though, exhibited plenty fine touches amid a few timely tackles.
So long as Caballero was about, Dundee were never out of it. His two raking first-half goals were both creations out of nothing, except for the brimming confidence in the striker's own mind. According to the Dundee match programme, Caballero had scored 185 goals in 72 Dundee appearances, which cannot possibly be correct. On this performance, though, the Argentinian should get a barrel of goals in time.
In the 17th minute, jockeying for an opening on the edge of the Rangers box, he drew Bob Malcolm towards him before levering the ball on to his right foot and lashing it past Stefan Klos from 20 yards. Eleven minutes later the deeds of the striker were even more impressive after Zurab Khizanishvili's interception and charge out of defence. Caballero picked up play and must have run 40 yards with the ball before lashing another unstoppable right-foot shot past Klos.
The game then simply degenerated amid a welter of missed penalties and missed chances. Ronald de Boer had a fine goal from a stooped header disallowed for off-side before the break, and in the second half Rangers pressed and harried Dundee without seeming to be able to pierce them. ''If the game had gone on for another 10 minutes I think we might have won,'' said Numan later.
Dundee, though, especially for their enterprising first-half, were well worth their draw.
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