{"id":55584,"date":"2025-08-09T19:25:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T19:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/55584\/"},"modified":"2025-08-09T19:25:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T19:25:08","slug":"rotten-rangers-showered-with-boos-despite-late-rescue-mission-as-defiant-dundee-pile-on-the-pressure-5-talking-points","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/55584\/","title":{"rendered":"Rotten Rangers showered with boos despite late rescue mission as defiant Dundee pile on the pressure \u2013 5 talking points"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a shocker for Rangers who have now picked up just two point from their opening two Premiership games<\/p>\n

19:55, 09 Aug 2025Updated 20:20, 09 Aug 2025<\/p>\n

The Ibrox team leak appeared to have been plugged before kick off.<\/p>\n

But the floodgates to more fan fury opened soon after the final whistle as 10-man Rangers<\/a> allowed two more Premiership points to disappear down the drain – against a Dundee side their were supposed to wipe the floor with.<\/p>\n

Ryan Astley\u2019s 51st minute header looked to have earned the Taysiders their first win at Ibrox since 2001.<\/p>\n

But James Tavernier<\/a> rescued a little deserved point with a 90th minute penalty – before the fans hit the boos at full time just as they had when Martin decided to introduce Kieran Dowell off the bench early in the second half.<\/p>\n

This was another awful afternoon for Gers. Dundee<\/a> skipper Clark Robertson headed against the post after half an hour and had another effort rattle the woodwork soon after before being flagged offside.<\/p>\n

Those scares had the home faithful growing restless as Martin\u2019s possession-based game plan struggled to breach the Dee backline.<\/p>\n

Joe Rothwell, Djeidi Gassama<\/a> and Jefte had shots flash wide from distance. But Rangers failed to register a single effort on target in the first half.<\/p>\n

And they were made to pay after 51 minutes when Ryan Astley silenced Ibrox with the opener. The big defender looped his effort over Jack Butland after Robertson again won the first contact from Callum Jones\u2019 free kick.<\/p>\n

\"RangersRangers players are dejected after Dundee’s opener(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

Martin threw on Kieran Dowell and Nico Raskin looking for a spark.<\/p>\n

But things only got worse on 59 minutes when Fin Robertson burst onto Joe Westley\u2019s brilliant pass beyond the Rangers defence only to be hauled down by Nasser Djiga – leaving Don Robertson with no option but to flash the red card.<\/p>\n

Rangers huffed and puffed. And eventually they got their leveller – via the spot – when Gassama cut inside Drey Wright and was hauled down with Tavernier doing the hours from 12 yards.<\/p>\n

Dessers thought he\u2019d won it in the 96th minute. But even VAR wasn\u2019t on Rangers side as a check ruled the striker was offside before sliding past McCracken.<\/p>\n

Here are our five talking points.<\/p>\n

Fear factor<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be honest, this was another ghastly afternoon for Martin and his side who appear to have lost none of last season\u2019s flakiness. The manager said after last week\u2019s draw at Motherwell that his players had to earn respect and fear by being aggressive and on the front foot.<\/p>\n

But the only fear here appeared to be in his own players playing in front of a demanding home crowd. They suffered scares in the first 45 minutes came in front of their own goal as Clark Robertson rattled the post twice, the second being flagged offside. But then came the real horror as Astley headed Dundee into the lead.<\/p>\n

Martin wants patience from the support to let his system bed in. But at this rate he\u2019ll be lucky to be given until Christmas.<\/p>\n

\"RussellRussell Martin shakes hands with Nasser Djiga after his red card(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It was too slow at times and when the midfield did break the lines into the final third too often Cyriel Dessers\u2019 touch was lacking. Oliver Antman was a spectator for much of the opening period although Djedei Gassama again showed why he is n<\/p>\n

This was a big test of Rangers mentality – something Martin questioned a week earlier in the week. But for the second week in a row it was a case of a point they barely deserved.<\/p>\n

Boo-sy evening<\/p>\n

Martin\u2019s honeymoon period is officially over. And it appears any goodwill towards Kieran Dowell is too after the Englishman\u2019s second half introduction – for Lyall Cameron after 55 minutes – was met with a chorus of boos from the home support.<\/p>\n

Whether the majority of it was aimed at the manager for his decision or the player who has flattered to deceive over his two years in Govan – probably both – we\u2019ll never know for sure.<\/p>\n

But the reaction was incredible and doesn\u2019t suggest the former Norwich City man, who played a key role in the Euro wins over Panathinaikos, will ever win over the support. More than that, it was proof Martin\u2019s decision making is now firmly under the punters\u2019 microscope.<\/p>\n

Martin decided to stick with the same starting 11 that swept away Plzen five days earlier. That meant no place again for James Tavernier and Nico Raskin in the starting line-up. Whether Max Aarons is an upgrade on the skipper at right back remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

Under Martin\u2019s style the full back\u2019s are told to cut inside and overload the midfield. It means the raking runs and lethal crosses Tavernier made his trademark aren\u2019t so frequent. Likewise without Raskin\u2019s influence in the middle Rangers look weaker.<\/p>\n

Dee-fiant<\/p>\n

What an evening for Dundee. Steven Pressley and his players arrived in Govan seriously under the pump after tumbling out of the Premier Sports Cup at the group stage and losing their opening league game at home to Hibs last week. Some predicted a walkover for Rangers.<\/p>\n

But even after losing the late equaliser the Taysiders left with al the plaudits – and with Pressley having done a number on Martin. They were organised in their 5\/4\/1 set-up – and looked comfortable throughout, hard to play through and carried a threat in attack.<\/p>\n

\"RyanRyan Astley celebrates his goal at Ibrox(Image: SNS Group)<\/p>\n

Had Clark Robertson\u2019s header been an inch further inside the post they would have had a 30th minute lead. The Dee captain caused Gers serious aerial problems and again his header was pivotal at the opener. Pressley handed new signing Joe Westley a debut and the former Burnley striker linked well with the powerful Ashley Hay up top on what was a hugely impressive evening\u2019s work for the Dens men.<\/p>\n

Soft touch<\/p>\n

Rangers defence struggled to deal with Dundee\u2019s aerial threat all afternoon. Clark Robertson rattled the post twice with headers from set pieces in the first half. Then came the goal where the big defender won the first contact from Callum Jones\u2019 free kick – and Ryan Astley the second to head over Butland.<\/p>\n

Martin might be all about attractive football and possession-based philosophies but when all is done he was a centre half – and must have been appalled at his side\u2019s defending of their box.<\/p>\n

Even in injury time Astley flashed another header just over. At the other end Dundee defended with strength and organisation. They looked comfortable and that, again, will be a huge worry for Martin.<\/p>\n

Cyriel Despairs<\/p>\n

Cyriel Dessers was again handed the task of leading the line after his impressive goalscoring display against Plzen on Tuesday. But this proved to be another of the Ibrox enigma\u2019s off days, and by quite some way.<\/p>\n

Twice Rangers worked the ball into good areas early on only for the footman\u2019s touch, or lack of, to bring the move to an end. The Nigeria international took 10 attempts to finally find the net at Dundee back in April – and it looked like he\u2019d need the same again this time.<\/p>\n

The problem was the chances simply weren\u2019t dropping. Nobody can fault Dessers\u2019 work rate or effort. But his link-up isn\u2019t sharp enough for the style Martin is trying to impress at Ibrox. And he remains far too inconsistent in front of goal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was a shocker for Rangers who have now picked up just two point from their opening two…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[27300,218,2714,2715,8058,101,30379,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-55584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-dundee-fc","tag-football","tag-rangers-fc","tag-russell-martin","tag-scottish-premiership","tag-sports","tag-steven-pressley","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}