In a move unheard throughout the history of Scottish football, a ‘soft’ penalty was NOT awarded in the dying seconds of an Old Firm game when ex-Tannadice dud Steven Thompson was snipered from the crowd, causing fury and uproar amongst the Rangers faithful and management team, so accustomed are they to such awards.
It had been a contest in which Rangers had had the bulk of possession, but some resolute defending in what was an organised United side kept Rangers at bay until Nacho Novo danced passed the United defence on the edge of the box and launched an unstoppable drive past Paul Jarvie in the United goal. 1-0 Rangers on 68 minutes.
Early in the game, Dado Prso had a header bounce off the post, and Thompson had come close with a header in the second half, but United had looked a lot more organised than in their previous few outings, and would have been disappointed if we had come home empty handed. In the end, a wonderful curling free kick by Barry Robson from the edge of the box beat Klos in the Rangers goal, the first time that goalie had been beaten in 7 games. The last minute equaliser sent the 150 or so Arabs in attendance, and thousands listening online and on the radio, wild with joy.
There was one final twist in the afternoon’s excitement when referee Steve Conroy FAILED to award the penalty that Rangers always try and cheat for in the last minute if they are losing.
All in all it was a valuable point gained for United, and the performance was a lot stronger and more organised that recent drubbings, and hopefully our manger Ian McCall is starting to get his tactics right. Well done to all.