Lawrence delivers a merry Rangers dance as Igamane proves he's got the moves in Dundee United win – 3 talking points
Resolute Rangers stood tall to secure a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Dundee United as they cut the gap on leaders' Celtic and Aberdeen to five points.
Tom Lawrence's seventh-minute strike settled it as Philippe Clement's side put paid to a challenging fortnight with issues to deal with on multiple fronts. Skipper James Tavernier accosted outside Ibrox after a 3-0 defeat to Celtic, the Belgian then hosted a Q&A before chairman John Bennett exited due to health reasons. But Tannadice proved a venue to soar not sink as they ground out all three points against Jim Goodwin's side.
A grump shared by Rangers fans has been the tentative nature of their away displays, dating back months, so there would have been delight over the red-hot intent shown from the first whistle. And it paid off as Lawrence danced his way through before finishing with aplomb. United were trapped and couldn't get out but the magic feet of David Babunski befuddled the Rangers midfield and allowed them to breath after being outplayed for 20 minutes Clement grimaced under the shade of the Tannadice touchline as the hosts were able to creep up the pitch in instalments after previously being pinned in.
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And there was on-field apoplexy from Rangers players as they begged referee Don Robertson to escalate Emmanuel Adegboyega's yellow card to VAR's attention. But the video team backed up their man on the field. The second half was much more like it, the handbrake was off from both teams and punters in both ends lapped it up.
Kristijan Trapanovski had his hand in his head after his shot clonked the post, however, on closer inspection it showed the deflection off Barron was the reason it caused Jack Butland to frantically scramble across his goal. And there was a similar tale of woe for Lawrence who was inches away from scoring again some solo magic. And Lawrence was once again cursing his luck after he couldn't turn substitute Hamza Igamane's inch-perfect pass past Jack Walton. The former FAR Rabat striker's flicked header tickled the side netting as he almost scored his first goal. United skipper Ross Docherty went close but Rangers were able to hold on. Here's 3 talking points from Tannadice.
Law laid down
The deftness of Lawrence's chip was akin to a Phil Mickelson from the edge of a green, a beautiful finish to round off a run full of intent. And that is who the Welshman is, a bonafide threat playing off a main striker. The 30-year-old appears to be over his cursed injury record and now appears capable of making the difference. New boy Bajrami is en route and he will provide direct competition for both Lawrence and Colombian winger Oscar Cortes, with the new man replacing the latter at half time. On this evidence, Lawrence appears up for the fight and he dovetailed expertly with the Albania international upon arrival. His gliding run and curling finish midway through the second period almost made it a deadly double.
Good willing to be bad
There's not a feeling more chastening for a professional football than to be hoicked off under the guise of a tactical substitution. That's what Kevin Holt experienced when he departed in the 34th minute, the Irishman changed his shape, but it never feels good. And Adegboyega didn't make it out for the second half after he avoided a red for his industrial tackle on Barron.
Goodwin will likely concede he made mistakes over his initial line-up, but he remains gutsy enough to try new things and self-aware enough to fix them. It's easy to forget how chastening his final days in Aberdeen were, but Goodwin is nothing if not tough and this team appears good enough to compete in the top flight long-term, not only fleeting appearances.
Hyped about Hamza
Rangers fans rightly grimaced when they were told their £1.7m striker needed some seasoning just to be able to train with his team-mates. But, in a way, you can see Clement's concern. He is raw but Rangers have an extra energy when he is on the pitch. And it would be remiss to paint him as merely a nuisance, he wasn't lacking quality with the chest control and perfect pass which teed-up Lawrence. Clement made sure to let fans know that Igamane was on the rise before kick-off and the Belgian backed that up by calling on the 21-year-old when his side needed a spark in the second half.