Attendance 49,548
Rangers left it late at Ibrox this afternoon before overcoming Dundee 3-1 to retain a two-point advantage at the top of the table, with wonder strikes from Shota Arveladze and Paulo Vanoli eventually being the difference between the two teams.
Manager Alex McLeish fielded the same eleven that had been so impressive at Tynecastle six days ago against a Dens side that made three changes from their European excursion with former Ranger Tom Cowan included. The White Feather , Fabrizio Ravanelli, scored three goals for Juventus against Rangers in the Champions League fixtures of Season 1995-96, but there was no place for him in Dundee s line-up today.
Making a less than welcome return to Ibrox was Referee Willie Young.
There was very much a low key start to the game although Michael Mols should have opened the scoring in fourteen minutes when he somehow side-footed a Maurice Ross cutback wide of the target.
Rangers were making all the running in the early stages, but the 49,548 crowd were becoming increasingly unsettled by carelessness in front of goal vividly illustrated by an incredible mix-up between Mols and Arveladze that eventually led to the Dutchman being ruled offside, thus passing up a glaring goal-scoring opportunity in 25 minutes.
Four minutes later Peter Lovenkrands should have done much better than fire wildly past when released by a delightful Mols turn and chip particularly with Arveladze unmarked in front of goal.
Dundee at last tested Stefan Klos when Nacho Novo went through on a long Gavin Rae pass only to shoot straight at the goalkeeper in 38 minutes.
Sixty seconds later at the other end Nuno Capucho came close with an angled drive from Michael Ball s pass.
The half ended in uproar and controversy with the person at the eye of the storm none other than our old friend Referee Willie Young, 75 yards behind play, who twice in quick succession denied Rangers glaring penalties. There seemed no debate about the validity of both claims in anyone s minds except for the overweight official firstly when Brent Sancho took the legs away from Arveladze with a tackle from behind, then seconds later a Maurice Ross cross was blatantly handled by Lee Wilkie only for Willie Young to turn a blind eye.
The official was booed off the park as the teams left the pitch at the interval, and with the game goalless it was obvious that Rangers would have to step up the pace.
Craig Moore replaced Henning Berg for the start of the second-half, and within two minutes the Light Blues were squandering another golden opportunity when Balls cross was somehow missed by both Mols and Arveladze, Capucho s weak effort being blocked.
Rangers had a third penalty claim waved aside in 50 minutes when Arveladze was felled by Sancho, but to no-one s surprise the incompetent Willie Young saw nothing amiss.
Six minutes later Stefan Klos was almost caught by surprise when a Zurab Khizanishvili mistake in midfield allowed Novo to advance before firing in a 25-yard shot that the goalkeeper held at the second attempt.
Dundee were becoming more adventurous as the game wore on, but were almost caught out in 58 minutes when a swift Ibrox break saw Arveladze find Capucho with a sweeping crossfield pass, the Portuguese winger cutting inside before seeing his drive deflected wide by a defender s hand. Once again surprise, surprise Willie Young chose to ignore the strong penalty appeal.
The opening goal was delayed a mere sixty seconds however and when it arrived it was well worth the wait, a spectacular mid-air volley by Arveladze following Mols header from a Ball cross.
Rangers went all out for the kill within three minutes a Mikel Arteta drive from Capucho s cutback was deflected wide.
Dundee were far from finished however Fabian Caballero almost topping even Arveladzes effort when he embarked on a solo run that was capped by a vicious angled drive from an almost impossible angle that Klos managed to touch over the bar in 63 minutes.
Klos again came to his side s rescue sixty seconds later when he produced a magnificent save to deny substitute Juan Sara, touching behind the Argentinians header from a Caballero cross.
Caballero was creating havoc in the Ibrox ranks another mazy run in 66 minutes saw him cut inside before firing in a 25-yard drive that was just too high.
The game was far from secure, and Alex McLeish rang the changes with Paulo Vanoli and Stephen Hughes replacing Peter Lovenkrands and the limping Maurice Ross.
The equaliser when it arrived could scarcely be described as undeserved Novo stabbing home from close range a Sara header from a Georgi Nemsadze free-kick in 76 minutes.
Rangers were now in grave danger of dropping their first points of the season, with Dundee looking just as likely to add to their score as the home side, but it was indeed the Ibrox men who completely out of the blue - regained the lead in 85 minutes when Paulo Vanoli sent a stunning drive crashing into the net from all of thirty yards from an Arveladze pass.
Three minutes later the points were secure when Arveladze unmarked at the far post headed home a Capucho cross.
Significantly Stefan Klos won the sponsors Man of the Match award.
A relieved Alex McLeish afterwards admitted:
"The result was hard on Dundee who gave us some problems. We had enough chances in the first-half, but our final ball lacked the quality of last week. We might have lost today, and it needed something special to win it. The team again showed spirit and character. "
RANGERS Klos; Ross (Hughes 76), Khizanishvili, Berg (Moore 45), Ball; Capucho, Emerson, Arteta, Lovenkrands (Vanoli 70); Mols, Arveladze
UNUSED SUBS Ostenstad, McGregor
DUNDEE Speroni; Mackay, Wilkie, Mair, Cowan; Nemsadze, Sancho (Sara 52), Rae, Smith; Caballero, Novo (Hutchinson 85)
UNUSED SUBS Hernandez, Langfield, Fotheringham
REFEREE Willie Young