Derek Mcinnes said Dundee’s equaliser felt like a “balloon popping” as Rangers failed to win for the first time in eight games in all competitions.
When asked about the build up to the game, Mcinnes said the message to his players was that “defenders needed to be good defenders” as he described Dundee’s forward line as “a handful”.
Rangers made one change to their starting XI, with winger Badredine Bouanani coming in for striker Kevin Kelsy. Mcinnes stated, “the reason for the change was to try to get Bouanani and Gassama against their wide players because we knew that their centre half would jump to go and follow Min-Su Kim, and we just thought in those moments of isolation we would cause them a lot of problems”.
Dundee arguably had the better of the first half. Bradley Fink opened the scoring after great link-up play between himself and Ash Hay. Ash Hay hit the bar himself moments before, and Dundee will have felt frustrated by the fact they only managed to score one goal in the opening 45 minutes.
Bouanani’s equaliser capped off a bright half from the Rangers winger, who was the clear standout for the away side in the opening stages. The Rangers manager stated that Bouanani’s goal and performance “justified his selection”.
Mcinnes conceded that the players “never quite” managed to carry out the game plan and cause Dundee enough problems in the first half. The Rangers manager said his players needed to “defend with more certainty” and “feed the wide players more quickly” in the second half.
Rangers started the second half far stronger and took the lead through a screamer from Nico Raskin. Dundee struggled to gain a foothold in the game and after Raskin’s goal the game looked like it was only heading in one direction.
Dundee equalised out of nothing after Dan Neil gave the ball away just outside the Rangers box. Mcinnes described the equalising goal as “a mistake” and that the goal “felt like a balloon popping” for his Rangers side.
Mcinnes was ultimately disappointed in the draw, stating that “we came here to win” and that “we can’t come away from home and have to score three goals to win”. He also praised his team for their performance and dominance in large spells of the second half.
The Rangers manager also took the time to praise the home side and their manager Stephen Pressley. Mcinnes said that “Stephen has got them motivated” and that “they don’t mess about”.
Rangers will be aiming to get back to winning ways next week when they welcome in-form St Johnstone to Ibrox.
