Rangers clearly done enough to be worthy of the three points in the second half today but Dundee manager Mark McGhee made a surprise call about the first half penalty decision.
Bobby Madden pointed to the spot after Alfredo Morelos’ shirt was clearly pulled. It came as he was jostling with the defender in what was comfortably in the cliched ‘soft’ category.
However, the Dens Park gaffer agreed with the call of the referee, despite James Tavernier not being able to convert on this occasion.
As reported by the Scotsman, he stated:
“Ach, I thought it was a penalty. It’s a light penalty, an easy penalty but he does tug him a wee bit.”
“And as soon as he tugs him the referee will give a penalty. You’ve just got to live with that. It was a penalty.”
Correct
Soft, stonewall or anything in between – if it’s a foul then it should be a penalty.
The saving grace for McGhee and Dundee was that they weren’t reduced to 10 men as they should have been.
Stoppages worked in the home side’s favour but with injuries and Rangers rampant second half display, they just couldn’t match the intensity and a deserved win was earned by Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team, definitely better late than never.
The major disappointment from a Rangers perspective is that it took the best part of an hour to show the required levels as well as the incision to convert the chances made. That must change for the run-in if silverware is to be secured at the end of the season.