Rangers Stutter in Draw Against Dundee United on Season Opener
Derek McInnes’ Rangers stuttered out of the blocks at Tannadice, held to a 1-1 draw by a sharp, organised Dundee United on the opening night of the Scottish Premiership season.
This was supposed to be a statement. Instead, it was a warning.
McInnes era starts with questions, not answers
All summer, Rangers have been about change. McInnes arriving from Heart of Midlothian, Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin following him along the M8, a new goalkeeper in Ivor Pandur, fresh faces across the pitch. On paper, a squad rebuilt to go one better than last season’s near miss.
On grass, for 45 minutes, they looked like strangers.
Rangers began brightly enough. Shankland, back in a Rangers shirt and keen to make the night his, nearly did just that with a clever backheel in the box, only for Jack Walton to read it and save sharply. It felt like the visitors were settling in, feeling their way into control.
Then United woke up.
Jim Goodwin’s side grew into the game with a conviction that belied a stuttering League Cup campaign. They pressed with purpose, snapped into challenges, and when their chance came, they carved Rangers open with a move that spoke of a team far more settled in its skin.
Jesse Randall burst down the right and whipped in a low cross. Zac Sapsford’s step-over was perfectly judged, dragging defenders away and letting the ball roll into the path of Lachlan Rose. One touch, left foot, guided into the far corner beyond Pandur. Simple. Precise. Deserved.
Tannadice roared. Rangers shrank.
The visitors’ first half drifted away in loose passes and poor decisions. Djeidi Gassama, tasked with providing width and spark, instead turned in a wasteful display that ended with him hooked at the interval. McInnes’ new project already looked like it needed more pieces.
Aasgaard ignites Rangers – but only briefly
McInnes had seen enough. At half-time, on came Dan Neil and Youssef Chermiti, and with them came urgency. Rangers started to pin United back, Neil demanding the ball in midfield, Chermiti stretching the game and threatening in behind.
Walton stood firm as the pressure built, making a couple of sharp stops as Rangers finally began to resemble a side with title ambitions. The equaliser, when it arrived, came from the one moment of genuine top-level quality the visitors produced all night.
Thelo Aasgaard took charge.
The Norway midfielder’s first touch on the edge of the box created the sliver of space he needed. His second was a thunderbolt. A rasping left-footed strike that flew past Walton’s dive and into the net. A statement of technique and nerve, and suddenly the away end believed the comeback was on.
The momentum had shifted. United, so composed before the break, were now clinging on as the game opened up. Rangers pushed, probed, and yet never quite found the composure to turn pressure into clear chances.
And then, just as the match seemed to tilt in Rangers’ favour, United almost stole it back.
United’s big chance goes begging
As the game stretched, both sides found space on the counter. But the clearest opening of the closing stages fell to the hosts, and it was one that will haunt them.
Daniel Bennie slid a delightful pass through the heart of the Rangers defence, sending Randall clean through on goal. Time, grass, and the goalkeeper to beat. Tannadice held its breath.
Randall chose flair over finish. He tried to dink the ball over Pandur, but the Rangers goalkeeper stood tall and gathered it with ease. A golden chance, squandered.
Goodwin could only watch as the moment slipped away. United had been disciplined, hard-working, and dangerous in transition. Their antipodean front line had combined smartly for the opener. They had done so much right, only to blink when it mattered most.
By the final whistle, a point each felt about right, even if both managers walked away knowing it could, and perhaps should, have been three.
Rangers’ rebuild still looks incomplete
For Rangers, the draw underlined what the summer already suggested: this squad is not finished.
They remain in the market for at least one winger, and this performance only reinforced that need. Gassama failed to seize his chance, his first-half display lacking both end product and conviction. When McInnes turned to his bench, the difference was immediate. Chermiti brought direct running and a threat in behind that Ryan Naderi had not provided. Neil gave them more control in midfield.
Yet the improvement never fully hardened into dominance. Aasgaard’s equaliser should have been the springboard, but instead it stood alone as the one truly polished moment from the visitors.
Frustration began to seep in. It was captured perfectly when Chermiti went for goal himself rather than squaring to Shankland, who had peeled into space and was screaming for the pass. The Scotland striker’s anger was instant and obvious. So was the symbolism.
This is a team still learning each other’s movements, still searching for chemistry, still short of the ruthlessness required to grind out wins on nights like this.
McInnes did not hide from that reality afterwards. He spoke of hard work, of a fair result, of a poor goal conceded and a first half that never really clicked. On this evidence, he knows exactly how far his side still has to go.
United show steel in pursuit of top six
On the other side, Goodwin had more reasons to be encouraged. Before the season began, he spoke openly about wanting fewer draws and a proper push for the top six. He didn’t get the win he craved, but he did get a performance that backed up his ambition.
United were compact without the ball, aggressive in the duels, and sharp on the break. They defended their box with discipline and carried a constant threat when they turned Rangers around. Their shape rarely wavered, their work-rate never dropped.
Rose’s goal capped another impressive display from the forward, although his heavily strapped upper leg as he left the field will be a concern. Randall, despite that late miss, offered energy and direct running throughout and earned praise from his manager for a “terrific game”.
United will still replay that chance in their minds. Rangers will replay a first half that slipped away from them.
One point each, and very different emotions.
For Goodwin, this felt like a platform. For McInnes, it felt like a reminder: in a season where Rangers must chase the title, nights like this cannot become a theme.
