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McInnes era begins with Rangers draw at Dundee United

Derek McInnes admitted Rangers must improve after his side were held to a 1-1 draw at Dundee United on the opening day of the Scottish Premiership season, with Thelo Aasgaard's equaliser earning a point following Lachlan Rose's first-half opener.

MW
·1 Aug·2 min read
New Rangers era gets off to underwhelming start at Dundee United
New Rangers era gets off to underwhelming start at Dundee UnitedPhotograph: Wikimedia Commons

Highlights: Dundee Utd 1-1 Rangers.

Dujon Sterling and Mohamed Diomande were off target from outside the box for Rangers, before the hosts made the breakthrough in the 38th minute.

Chermiti and Dan Neil came on for Naderi and Djeidi Gassama as McInnes tried to affect the game at half-time and his side immediately looked more threatening. Shankland’s physical presence caused problems as United were made to defend another high ball and Aasgaard took an excellent touch to take out Joshua Rawlins before firing a left-foot strike into the top corner from 16 yards. Rangers could not keep up the momentum, and Randall squandered a glorious chance to mark his league debut with a famous winner.

Jesse Randall should have won the game for the home side with eight minutes left when substitute Daniel Bennie’s swerving pass put the New Zealand international clean through on goal. Frustration for United, a let-off for Rangers as they have to settle for a draw in their opening match for the fourth straight season.

The main plus point for the visitors was the display of Aasgaard who cut his holiday short after playing for Norway at the World Cup.

Derek McInnes insists Rangers will improve after his team's Scottish Premiership draw at Dundee United. "It's one game," he told Sky Sports following a 1-1 draw on Friday. "I'm not really interested in what's happened previously, but from my point of view, we are going to get better as we go along." "It's disappointing - we've dropped a couple of points, but we weren't good enough to get all three," McInnes added. "We've got to have more trust in what we're doing, keep our shoulder to the wheel and do simple things better."

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Marcus Wren Marcus writes the longer pieces and the column. Twenty years of byline; the desk's last stop on a story that needs a steadier voice.

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