Leagues apart but result retains sense
Home side’s supporters rule the soundwaves with Rangers defence all at sea, writes Richard Wilson
THE only conventional aspect of this game was the result. A topflight club knocking out a fourth- tier side from the William Hill Scottish Cup is hardly unexpected, even if Rangers would have considered themselves capable of a more resilient display.
Even so, the sight of police officers erecting barriers outside the ground before kick- off, to control the flow of fans into the stadium, was an indication of the peculiarities of this encounter.
Rumours abounded of Rangers supporters’ buses travelling to Dundee, even though none of the passengers were attending the match. That kind of story turned out to be misguided, but 422 away fans still broke the boycott arranged by the Rangers support and backed by the club itself, which did not take its allocation of tickets for this tie.
The Rangers players acknowledged their small band of fans, tucked into a corner of the main stand, but the Dundee United support was even more focused on them.
The atmosphere was never intimidating, because mockery seemed to be all that the United fans wanted to indulge in. Even before the game kicked off, they were singing, “You’re No’ Rangers Any More”.
That kind of barb has become so commonplace that the Ibrox support are inclined to dismiss it. The very fact that opposition fans are agitated enough to use it is proof enough that the old rivalries remain entrenched.
United tried to make a virtue of the boycott, selling tickets for the away end to anybody who wished to buy them, and urging their own support to turn out in numbers.
The crowd of 9564 was close enough to the typical attendance of a United v Rangers game for the home side to feel vindicated, although Rangers fans will feel the same since their own grievances have been ai r e d t hroughout the preamble to the tie.
“It was a strange build-up,” said United striker Johnny Russell. “It’s not our place to really say anything. Rangers made the decision [for the fans to boycott the game] and i t was their