Dunfermline 1 1 Rangers
Monday 15th September
Played at Bayview Park Stadium
It was a damp night in Methil as the Gers slipped to a 1-1 draw with their
Fife opponents. Whilst the team from the Kingdom competed well, the truth is
that this is a game that Rangers should have won comfortably, but poor
finishing let the away side down.
The game started relatively brightly for Rangers with an early chance being
created in the 7th minute when Tom Brighton raced through and rounded
Dunfermline keeper Scott Thomson, but from a relatively tight angle, the
shot was cleared off the line by the Dunfermline defenders who had raced
back.
Following this early chance the game was fairly even, but Rangers continued
to create the better chances. In the 22nd minute, good work down the right
wing by Chris Burke, lead to a cross over to the unmarked Charlie Adam, who,
with the unguarded goal at his mercy, contrived to shoot over the bar when
it seemed easier to score. However, play switched quickly to the other end
when Sean Kilgannon raced clear of the Rangers defence and lobbed Graeme
Smith in the Rangers goal, the Rangers keeper relieved to see the ball just
over the bar.
After this scare, Rangers continued to press for the opener, with a chance
from a Charlie Adam free kick that was just past the post in the 32nd
minute.
However the opener duly arrived in the 36th minute when Chris Burke
certainly the most impressive player on the pitch latched onto a Daryl
Duffy pass to round Scott Thomson and score from a tight angle.
Unfortunately the lead was short lived, lasting a whole 7 minutes when Pat
Clarke scored for the Pars after what can only be described as a scrappy
goalmouth melee.
As the first half drew to a close, there was time for a good reflex save by
Scott Thomson from a Andy Dowie header.
Rangers came out at the start of the second half and gave the impression
that they were determined to win the game. In the 48th minute, Chris Burke
evaded several tackles, but his shot was saved comfortably by Thomson.
Shortly afterwards it was Charlie Adam¹s turn when he broke through, but
again Thomson saved relatively comfortably.
The match got a little bit tousy in the 52nd minute when Alan Hutton was
booked for a challenge on Richard Bryne. The young Rangers defender felt
that Bryne had made the most of an innocuous challenge and made his feelings
known. Credit to the linesman in this situation who came off his line and
got between the two players to defuse the situation.
When play resumed, the relentless assault on the Dunfermline defence
continued, in the 55th minute a shot from Bill Gibson was saved by Thomson.
From the resulting corner, Andy Dowie had a header come back off the bar.
This was shortly followed in the 59th minute by a free kick from 25 yards
out, which saw Charlie Adam hit the bar.
In the 61st minute, Rangers claimed for a goal following a goalmouth
scramble where Namouchi claimed to have forced the ball over the line, the
linesman however did not give any indication that he felt the ball was over.
From my view in the stand I couldn¹t actually see whether the ball was over
or not, but the Rangers players did not make too much fuss over the
incident.
Play continued to rage towards the Dunfermline goal, next to have a chance
was Tom Brighton in the 67th minute when he sprinted clear of the Pars
defence and rounded Thomson, however he could not steer the ball into goal
from the tightest of angles. This was followed in the 70th minute by a
booking for Storey as a result of pulling down Chris Burke as he was about
to burst clear of the defence. From the resulting free kick, Charlie Adam
again went agonisingly close, but his shot was just wide of the post.
Events took a turn in the 75th minute when Dunfermline ³scored² a goal in
rather unusual circumstances. The ball was fired into the near post from the
right wing, and Smith inexplicably let the ball slip from his grasp and into
the net. Fortunately for Rangers the linesman had noticed an infringement in
the lead up and the ³goal² was disallowed.
The game pretty much petered out for the last 10 minutes, only things to
note were a shot well wide by Billy Gibson following good work by Daryl
Duffy, and right at the death a shot by Charlie Adam was saved by Scott
Thomson.
Overall it was a reasonable display by Rangers, only let down by the
impression that at times their was a desire to walk the ball into the net,
on another night with the shooting boots on, this performance would have
resulted in a comfortable victory.
Rangers Team: Smith, Hutton, Coyle, Dowie, McLeod, Gibson, Burke, Adam,
Duffy, Namouchi, Brighton. Subs: McKenzie, Gebbie, McLean, McCormack,
Redford
Match report by Saki