afternoon, courtesy of a 1-1 draw with Dundee United.
It took a late equaliser from ex-Ranger Barry Robson
to deny Rangers the three points, his strike coming
from a non-existent free-kick with just two minutes
remaining, but without question it was the appalling
refereeing of Steve Conroy that affected the outcome
of the game.
Manager Alex McLeish made just the one change from
Poland with Nacho Novo replacing Peter Lovenkrands who
had in fact been originally selected to play against a
visiting line-up that incorporated three former Ibrox
men – Derek McInnes and Billy Dodds as well as Robson.
Rangers almost struck inside the first minute when
Novo’s cross was headed against a post by Dado Prso,
but the game soon deteriorated with little inspiration
or initiative coming from the home side, and no
adventure whatsoever from United who had clearly set
out their stall with an ultra-defensive 4-5-1
formation.
Fernando Ricksen tested United goalkeeper Paul Jarvie
with a 22-yard free-kick on the half-hour, but there
was a worrying lack of penetration about the home
attacks.
Novo almost broke the deadlock eight minutes later
when his snap-shot from twenty yards almost caught
Jarvie by surprise – he parried the initial shot, then
scooped the ball away as it spun towards the line.
A goalless first-half had been poor fare for the
46,796 crowd, including a dreadful turnout of visiting
supporters.
Steven Thompson replaced Shota Arveladze eight minutes
into the second-half, and within five minutes the
former United player was inches away from connecting
with Novo’s low ball as it flashed across the face of
goal.
Rangers were at last beginning to apply pressure –
Chris Burke’s 64th minute corner finding Prso whose
header was too high.
Three minutes later Ricksen’s low drive from a Prso
lay-off was held by Jarvie, but the deadlock was at
last broken in 68 minutes when Novo netted with an
absolute screamer of a shot from 25 yards from a
Gregory Vignal pass.
Unbelievably Referee Steve Conroy booked the little
Spaniard for celebrating the score.
Five minutes later it was almost 2-0 when Thompson’s
flying header from a Burke cross was inches wide.
The Tannadice men had barely crossed the halfway line
up to now, although Stefan Klos had to be alert to
hold a 25-yard free-kick from Mark Wilson in 75
minutes.
The referee’s performance thus far had been dodgy to
say the least, but it deteriorated badly in the
closing ten minutes – beginning when Chris Innes
blatantly fouled Novo right in front of the official.
Nacho’s cry of pain could be heard all around the
Stadium, yet incredibly Conroy waved play on.
Shamefully, when Rangers gained possession and played
the ball out in order that the player might receive
treatment United’s Mark Wilson refused to play the
ball back from the throw-in.
Conroy’s impact on proceedings became more influential
and outrageous as the game entered its’ dying minutes.
Two free-kicks awarded to United threatened danger –
the first was cleared, but the second, the consequence
of a blatant dive by substitute Karim Kerkar, saw
Robson find the net from 25 yards, thus ending Stefan
Klos’ run of 782 minutes without conceding a goal.
More importantly, it levelled the score at 1-1,
leaving Rangers precious little time to retrieve the
situation.
Nevertheless there was still time for the Referee to
make yet another appalling decision when a Ricksen
free-kick found substitute Steven Thompson who was
blatantly shoved in the back by David McCracken.
It was a stonewall penalty, but to no one’s surprise
the referee turned the appeal down.
The final whistle sounded almost immediately
afterwards, leaving Rangers seven points adrift in the
title race, and Referee Steve Conroy departed to a
storm of abuse.
RANGERS Klos; Khizanishvili, Boumsong, Andrews,
Vignal; Burke (Namouchi 85), Ricksen, Malcolm, Novo;
Prso, Arveladze (Thompson 53)
UNUSED SUBS G. Smith, Hughes, Ball, McLean, Campbell
DUNDEE UNITED Jarvie; Wilson, McCracken, Innes,
Archibald; Samuel (McIntyre 72), Brebner, McInnes,
Dodds, Robson; Grady (Kerkar 79)
UNUSED SUBS Hirschfield, Duff, Ritchie, Gardiner,
Robertson
REFEREE Steve Conroy
Attendance 46,796