Derek McInnes’s reign at Rangers got off to a disappointing start for him at Tannadice tonight when the Ibrox club were held to a draw by Dundee United in their opening William Hill Premiership match of the new season.
Fans of the Glasgow giants flocked to the game in large numbers hoping to see McInnes, who led Hearts to within minutes of a historic Scottish title win last term, record a triumph in his first competitive fixture as manager.
But their opponents had other ideas and spoiled their party. Jim Goodwin’s men, who took the lead through a first-half Lachlan Rose strike, picked up a deserved point for their efforts at the end of 90 closely-contested minutes.
Thelo Aasgaard netted early in the second half to ensure that Rangers, who last prevailed in their opening day league fixture four years ago, at least avoided defeat.
But the away team, who gifted Jesse Randall a free shot at goal late on, were perhaps fortunate not to suffer a loss. Here are five talking points to arise from events in Dundee.
All change
After a season of incomings and outgoings in Govan, it was inevitable that a new-look Rangers side would take to the field. But the travelling supporters who filled every available seat in the away sections of the packed stadium were interested to see which of their new arrivals got the nod.
Ivor Pandur, a £6m acquisition from Hull City, was always going to get the nod in goals. But he was joined in the starting line-up by centre-half Ben Godfrey, central midfielder Cammy Devlin, and striker Lawrence Shankland.
McInnes retained the 4-4-2 formation which his predecessor Danny Rohl favoured and fielded his new captain Shankland up front alongside Ryan Naderi. The presence of Youssef Chermiti and Bojan Miovski, forwards who together cost over £15m, underlined the strength in depth in his squad.
Ross McCrorie, Dan Neil, Vanja Dragojevic and Olwethu Makhanya, the South African defender who completed his £3m move from Philadelphia Union on Thursday, were also among the substitutes.
United front
There has been extensive transfer business conducted on Tayside in the close season as well and Goodwin handed no fewer than five players their Premiership debuts in his 4-3-3- set-up; Joshua Rawlins, Michael Forbes, Dylan Tait, Randall and Rose.
Dylan Tait, who joined from Falkirk on a free transfer at the start of July and opened his account for his new side in a 4-0 Premier Sports Cup group stage mauling of Spartans last week, also made his league bow for his new side.
United, who finished fourth and qualified for the Conference League in the 204/25 campaign, were disappointed to miss out on the top six last season. Can they give a better account of themselves this term? On the evidence of this outing against one of the strongest sides in the country, they just might.
First blood
The hosts’ all-Antipodean front three of Randall, Rawlins and Rose certainly looked lively and Emmanuel Fernandez had to produce a perfectly-timed slide tackle to prevent the visitors falling behind when Vicko Sevelj threaded a defence-splitting through ball to the latter in the first half.
But the trio combined with Australian forward Zac Sapsford brilliantly to break the deadlock seven minutes before half-time.
Rawlins sent Randall down the right, the New Zealander squared through the legs of Tuur Rommens and a Sapsford dummy deceived Godfrey. Rose got the slightest of touches and his shot found the bottom left corner.
The Rangers system – the Ibrox men played a back five, with Djedi Gassama dropping back to left wing-back, when they were out of possession and used a midfield diamond when they had the ball – did not function as McInnes had hoped or anticipated it would.
They had some half-chances. Jack Walton denied a Shankland backheel early on and tipped a soft Naderi header away during the opening 45 minutes.
It was, though, clear that changes were required as the teams headed back to the changing room and the manager acted accordingly. Chermiti and Neil took over from Naderi and Gassama respectively.
Neil, the former Sunderland man who spent last season on loan at Ipswich, was booked for foul on Agyei shortly after coming on. But the replacements made a big difference.
Straight away, Fernandez, Chermiti and Aasgaard were presented with decent scoring opportunities. The equaliser was very much with the run of play.
Aas swipe
It is something of an understatement to say that Aasgaard has failed to live up to expectations since joining Rangers from Luton Town for a £3.5m fee last year.
The Norwegian internationalist, who made three appearances for his country at the World Cup this summer, including in the group game against France, became something of a peripheral figure as last season wore on.
But McInnes has liked what he has seen of the 6ft 2in 24-year-old since returning to Glasgow and he started him in the middle of the park alongside Devlin and Mohammed Diomande.
Aasgaard had some good moments and levelled in fine style when United centre-half Michael Forbes failed to head the ball to safety in his own area under pressure from Shankland. He lashed a powerful left-footed effort beyond Walton.
Two points dropped
McCrorie came on for Godfrey after Rangers had restored parity. Dujon Sterling moved inside to allow the Scotland internationalist to slot in to the right-back berth. Shankland and his team mates pushed hard for a late winner. But it was not to be.
The Rangers players were irked when referee Nick Walsh declined to award them a corner when Diomande went down in the United area after a challenge by Agyei in injury time. They surrounded the match official to complain following the final whistle. But it would have been an injustice if they had snatched victory from a set piece at the death.
It is early days for McInnes, who will travel to Poland next week for a Europa League qualifier against Jagiellonia Bialystok, at Ibrox and he will have learned a lot about his new charges from what he witnessed.
But the man who played for the Glasgow giants for five years in the 1990s is well aware that draws and dropped points are unacceptable in his new high-profile role and he will be eager to oversee a quick upturn in fortunes.
