Steven Davis scored the only goal of the game to help Rangers produce one of the narrow football scores in the semi-final of the Premier Sports Cup. For the visit of the Championship team, Giovanni van Bronckhorst made a few changes, and the experienced midfielder gave the Gers an encouraging early lead when he headed in after 10 minutes. However, the Light Blues’ play for the remainder of the match lacked zip and penetration, and they were unable to dismantle the Taysiders once more. As a result, they were forced to settle for an uninspiring victory, which was accompanied by some jeers at the final whistle.
The biggest win of the night for the underwhelming home team was a spot in the semifinals, combined with Kemar Roofe’s comeback from injury. It was expected that Van Bronckhorst would change his lineup, starting only four players from Sunday’s 2-1 victory against Motherwell. Goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin, James Sands, Ridvan Yilmaz, Davis, Fashion Sakala, Scott Wright, and Alfredo Morelos were all added by the Dutchman.
Roofe was sitting on the bench hoping to make his season debut before the game ended, which he accomplished later in the play. Lyall Cameron, Josh Mulligan, and Wimbledon attacker Zach Robinson were all added by Dens Park manager Gary Bowyer. In the first few minutes, Mulligan headed a cross from Luke McCowan just over the bar. Rangers, however, took the lead thanks to a deft one-two inside the penalty area between Wright and Malik Tillman.
Robinson, Cameron, and Mulligan were replaced by Zak Rudden, Max Anderson, and rookie Derick Osei, while Jordan Marshall was replaced by Lee Ashcroft. For the final 17 minutes or so, Morelos, Davis, and Tillman were changed by Roofe, Charlie McCann, and Scott Arfield for the Rangers, but there was no noticeable difference. Osei’s left-wing cross in the 81st minute narrowly missed the crossbar, and an increasingly agitated Ibrox saw out the remaining minutes as Dundee pressed with increased confidence but in vain for the equalizer, even if Rangers also had a few chances to score a second.
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