BLUE THUNDER
Rangers march on at Tannadice but Gerrard angrily denies Morelos used an elbow in Connolly clash
STEVEN GERRARD defended Alfredo Morelos after the Rangers striker was involved in a controversial flashpoint during yesterday’s 2-1 win over Dundee United at Tannadice. Morelos was only booked by referee Steven McLean (left) after a 12th-minute aerial challenge in which his arm connected with the face of United centre-back Mark Connolly. Speaking on Sky Sports amid initial claims he had caught him with an elbow, ex-Ibrox striker Ally McCoist branded the Colombian’s actions ‘crazy’, adding: ‘It could’ve been a red.’ But Gerrard claimed McLean got it right by not sending Morelos packing almost a year after his last dismissal. Asked if he would speak to the 24-year-old about the incident, the Rangers manager said: ‘Why would I speak to him about that? I didn’t see an elbow. If you look at him again, there’s no elbow there. The referee saw it and dealt with it. It was a foul and a yellow card and it’s been dealt with. But if you look at it again, the next time I see you, you will say that it wasn’t an elbow.’ United players were angered by the challenge but manager Micky Mellon declined to comment afterwards. ‘I wouldn’t want the opposition manager standing here talking about my players,’ he said. ‘Everyone will have their opinion at home but the referee makes the decisions.’ A superb free-kick from James Tavernier and a header from Connor Goldson came
either side of Liam Smith’s fine goal for United as Rangers extended their unbeaten run to 27 matches. Gerrard feels Morelos will recover his scoring touch after the Colombian failed to maximise his reprieve by wasting secondhalf chances. The striker hasn’t scored a league goal since September 20 and has drawn a blank in his last six games. ‘He’s not the first centreforward this has happened to,’ said Gerrard. ‘They have phases where they are not in top form. He is working hard, his all-round play is good, he’s just maybe lacking that wee bit of confidence in front of goal. That’s for me to deal with and I’m sure it will turn.’ Tavernier is now on an incredible 17 goals for the season and also supplied the free-kick for Goldson’s goal. ‘Their leadership has been superb since the beginning of the run and they have stepped up at big times and big moments,’ said Gerrard. ‘Connor scores a similar goal to the one he did at Celtic Park, it’s a great delivery from James. ‘The free-kick, it doesn’t matter who you are or who you’re playing for, that is a world-class moment to execute it in that style from where it was. It was a superb bit of magic.’ Gerrard dismissed questions about title credentials, saying only: ‘It’s December.’ But he praised his players’ consistency. ‘It’s about taking each challenge as it comes and this was a real tricky one. ‘We’ve handled everything thrown at us today, so I’m really proud of the performance. ‘We created the most chances, dominated the second half and should have had a penalty.’ Mellon took heart from his side’s display as they became the first to score against Rangers in the Premiership since September. ‘Games like today allow us to look at where we’re at as a football club,’ he said. ‘We got an awful lot of things right and there are things we’ll continue to try and get better at as we move on through the season. ‘As gutted as we are, it’s a step in the right direction in terms of making it competitive against Rangers.’