Manager bemoans costly error from stand-in skipper after Rangers surrender control at Dens Park
Derek McInnes lamented Rangers’ failure to convert second-half dominance into three points after his side missed the chance to return to the Scottish Premiership summit following a 2-2 draw at Dundee.
The visitors had recovered well after falling behind to Bradley Fink’s neat finish at Dens Parks, drawing level shortly before half-time through winger Badredine Bouanani sumptuous curling strike.
An equally impressive 25-yard strike from Nicolas Raskin, which crashed in off the underside of the crossbar, had the visitors ahead on the hour mark. But Callum Jones punished a misplaced pass from Rangers captain Dan Neil to restore parity, leaving McInnes frustrated at the manner in which his side allowed their opponents back into the match.
A frustrated McInnes felt that an avoidable defensive error changed the complexion of a match his team appeared to have under control. “I think there’s two parts to it,” he reflected. “The first half, I think Dundee maybe shaded it and certainly they were a handful.
“We knew Dundee would mix the game up, they would come after us on full press. We also knew that we had to use the ball and move the ball quicker.
“You have to say we never quite done that enough. We certainly needed to feed our wide players far more quicker, with a lot more purpose, and we also needed to defend with a bit more certainty.”
Dundee took full advantage of those shortcomings in the opening 45 minutes, with Fink breaking the deadlock. However, Bouanani’s equaliser provided the platform for a much-improved second-half display.
McInnes was encouraged by the contribution of his wide men after the break, when Rangers upped the tempo and subjected Dundee keeper Owen Goodman to a succession of smart saves.
Discussing the impact of his wingers, McInnes said: “I thought his (Bouanani’s) performance latterly in the first half, when he moved the ball, gets his goal, and certainly in the second half I thought him and Gassama were magnificent.
“The performance for 20-25 minutes, culminating in Nico’s goal, which should be a winning goal because it was such a high-quality goal. The disappointment is that we had the game there, we were dominant, we had the game by the scruff of the neck and they were struggling to get out of their own half.”
Jones’ leveller in the closing stages was therefore particularly difficult for McInnes to stomach. Neil’s misplaced pass allowed the midfielder time to produce a composed finish. It was an error McInnes described as having the effect of “a balloon popping” and puncturing Rangers’ momentum.
“The second goal is a mistake,” he sighed. “Listen, I’m not going to criticise any of my players for it, but it is a mistake. It kills your momentum, first of all, because football isn’t just a physical game, but mentally. But it also gives Dundee something to hang on to. All of a sudden they are thinking, ‘we might just get something here.’
“I thought Dundee were good value [for a point]. I think they will be a good team this season, they’ll cause teams problems. We still made them defend. Although we didn’t quite get to the same level, I still thought we were the dominant team and the side that looked more likely to win it.”
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