Venue: Dens Park                                                                 Date: 09/01/25                                                         Time: 20:00pm

Rangers’ woeful away record continued as Dundee battled to well earned draw, leaving the visitors with just 13 points from a possible 33 on the road.

It was a nightmare start for Clement’s side as Josh Mulligan made the most of a blocked Scott Tiffoney effort to square the ball to Oluwaseun Adewumi who fired Dundee ahead just five minutes in.

Having struggled to break down a well organised defence, Rangers found joy just nearly half an hour later as Hamza Igamane’s pass into the feet of Vaclav Cerny finished a rapid counter attack.

Rangers were however fortunate to go into the break one apiece with returning loan signing Aaron Donnelly making his presence known from the off, denied only by flying bodies in front of goal.

Struggling to find the target, Ridvan Yilmaz endured a torrid evening, firing a distant effort well over the bar as Dundee looked resolute in defence.

Cerny came close to adding a second, denied by the outstretched arm of one Trevor Carson before skewing the rebound.

Dundee never looked like settling for a point and they were close to getting all three but Adewumi’s double was denied by the offside flag.

As the second half wore on Rangers seemed to lose confidence in their ability to find a winner, Igamane a rare brightspark saw his effort parried to safety by Carson.

Meanwhile the home side continued to punish sloppy passing, Julien Vetro racing down the right hand sand and feeding the ball to a well placed Adewumi whose effort lacked the requisite accuracy to trouble Liam Kelly.

Almost reproducing the goal from nothing, Mohamed Diomande rattled the crossbar from 30 yards with a well beaten Trevor Carson’s feet planted beneath before Jefte put his headed effort just above the woodwork.

Donnelly face of dogged Dundee

With a squad about as threadbare as they come, Tony Docherty found himself flipping through his roladex to fill out a side needed to put two keepers on the bench.

But off the back of tonight it looks as though he’s plucked the perfect name in Aaron Donnelly, who made his second debut for the club after his loan spell last season from high flying Nottingham Forest.

The Northern Ireland international epitomised everything the manager wanted from his players, brave in attack and solid in defence.

Attempts on goals were denied by some last ditch defending whilst he continued to get the better of his opposite man at the back, making his satisfaction known after denying Oscar Cortes in a duel.

Docherty will pray Donnelly can stay fit as the side edges ever closer to the top half.

Out of ideas, out of steam

Despite having four more outfield players on the bench, not to mention the exorbitant financial gap between the sides, it was Rangers who looked to be on their last legs this evening.

Whilst they have experienced injury problems themselves, giving first starts to centre backs Nsiala tonight and Leon King last week, the problems look far greater around them.

Jefte and Yilmaz both let the ball slip out of their feet in almost Sunday League levels of ball control and Hamza Igamane was often too desperate in his attempts to create chances for his side as Ianis Hagi had a night to forget before being hooked at half-time.

There are still plenty of games to be played this season, including six this month but Rangers are already turning to Europe for salvation as they hope to banish their away day hoodoo.

If they can’t find a cure, Clement will find himself answering more and more questions about his future at the club.

What the Managers had to say

Attendance: 8,606

Line ups:

Dundee (3-4-2-1): T. Carson (c), A. Donnelly, C. Robertson, R. Astley, E. Ingram, C. Garza (S. Braybrooke 78′), M. Sylla, J. Mulligan, O. Adewumi, S. Tiffoney (S. Palmer-Houlden), S. Murray (J. Vetro)

Substitutes: S. Braybrooke, L. Graham, C. Main, J. McCracken, S. Palmer-Houlden, H. Sharp, J. Vetro

Rangers (4-2-3-1): L. Kelly, Jefte, C. Nsiala, R. Propper, R. Yilmaz (R. McCausland 81′), M. Diomande, C. Barron (Danilo 66′), I. Hagi (R. Matondo 46′), N. Bajrami, V. Cerny (O. Cortes 87′), H. Igamane

Substitutes: O. Cortes, C. Dessers, K. Dowell, M. Munn, L. King, R. Matondo, R. McCausland, Danilo, B. Rice

Referee: Calum Scott