Cyriel Dessers’ dramatic stoppage-time strike gave Rangers a last-gasp 4-3 win
over Dundee in an enthralling Premiership encounter at Dens Park.
Dark Blues striker Simon Murray scored after only two minutes and captain Joe Shaughnessy added a second in the 19th minute against the disjointed visitors.
Interim boss Barry Ferguson’s side were handed a lifeline when Shaughnessy scored an own goal just before the break, with Dessers, making his 100th competitive appearance for Rangers, having missed a series of chances.
Forward Scott Tiffoney made it 3-1 in the 62nd minute and all the points looked to be staying at home but Rangers skipper James Tavernier reduced the deficit in the 76th minute before substitute Tom Lawrence dramatically levelled five minutes later with another fine strike.
Cyriel Dessers celebrates as he scores to make it 4-3
And in the third minute of stoppage time, Dessers demonstrated his never-say-die attitude when he nipped in to score the winner and complete a remarkable game.
Rangers, with attacker Hamza Igamane in for the injured Vaclav Cerny, had been stunned when the home side raced into an early lead.
Finlay Robertson, who took over from injured midfielder Lyall Cameron who is Ibrox-bound in the summer, curled in a corner in from the right and Murray got in front of Tavernier and volleyed past Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland.
Dundee’s Simon Murray celebrates his goal with Finlay Robertson
Ferguson’s side looked bereft, with any entry into their penalty area a potential problem, but in the 16th minute Dessers was sent clear by a Mohamed Diomande header only for his low drive to be blocked by the legs of keeper Trevor Carson and the home side defended the corner.
More calamitous defending by Rangers which began with Igamane failing to clear his lines following a set-piece ended with Butland fumbling a header from Shaughnessy, then saving from Murray who was also unmarked, before the Irishman knocked the loose ball in at the second attempt. A VAR check for offside confirmed the goal.
Robertson then blasted a shot past Butland but referee David Dickinson had already blown for a foul by Josh Mulligan on Yilmaz, to the relief of the beleaguered Rangers players and supporters.
The Ibrox side eventually perked up.
Carson saved from Igamane’s long-range drive then made a better save from Dessers’ header from the subsequent corner but Rangers got a break in the 43rd minute when Shaughnessy sliced Tavernier’s cross from deep on the right high into his own net from 12 yards.
Carson saved twice more from Dessers as the Light Blues finished the half strongly although Ferguson made interval changes, with Ianis Hagi and Bailey Rice replacing Connor Barron and Leon Balogun ensuring a return to a back four.
The game sped from end to end.
Tiffoney somehow missed from a couple of yards from a Mulligan cross minutes later before Dessers eventually had the ball in the Dundee net after rounding Carson only for VAR to rule offside.
Dessers headed Tavernier’s cross over from close range but Dundee’s Oluwaseun Adewumi also missed a couple of chances, missing the target from a Murray cutback then lobbing high over the bar when through against Butland.
Scott Tiffoney celebrates as he scores to make it 3-1
However, the Taysiders restored their lead when Tiffoney sped into the Rangers box past substitute Jefte – on for Yilmaz – and fired past Butland, therefore making amends for his earlier horror miss.
Tavernier’s wonderful drive from the edge of the box which beat Carson and when Lawrence, on for Diomande, rifled low past Carson from 25 yards it was all square – but more drama was imminent.
Rangers’ Cyriel Dessers celebrates with Hamza Igamane
Murray smashed a shot against Butland’s post in stoppage time before Dessers took advantage of hesitancy in the Dundee defence at the other end to send the Rangers fans into raptures – and there was still time for Carson to make two more saves from the striker.
Dessers: It was a rollercoaster game
Rangers goal hero Cyriel Dessers to Sky Sports:
“I’m still trying to find out what just happened!
“From the first minute until the 92nd minute it was a rollercoaster, and it was a lot of pain for 91 minutes, but then, yeah, to win this feels good.
“This team, the mentality of not giving up, shows again – unfortunately we have to show it too much – how good we are at coming back.
“It would be a lot easier if we give the first punch and they have to come.”
Ferguson: We never gave in
Rangers interim boss Barry Ferguson to Sky Sports:
“My thoughts are I’m really happy with the three points, but overall I’ve seen so many old habits creep in.
“I just had a word with them about it and I’m not going to allow that to happen.
“It’s something we need to work on. We’ve got a full week now and that’s something that me, my staff and the players will go through.
“There were stages in the game that I was a bit baffled at times, but one thing I will say about them was that they showed character again. They never gave in.”
