This was a result that left both bosses frustrated. Russell Martin could not justify the loss of two more points in the title race, while Steven Pressley was left to rue the two that got away.
Ryan Astley stunned Ibrox as he gave Pressley's side a shock lead just minutes after the break. Dundee had looked the more likely to score and twice hit the woodwork in the first period.
Rangers were reduced to ten men when Nasser Djiga was dismissed for a challenge on Finlay Robertson. A Drey Wright foul on Djeidi Gassama gave James Tavernier the chance to earn Rangers a point. It was never going to satisfy a furious Ibrox.
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Rangers only have themselves to blame
Events at Fir Park felt like such a long time ago. A week usually does in the world of Rangers, after all. That result punctured the optimism and excitement. The win over Viktoria Plzen re-energised the support. The third game in seven days saw Martin suffer a significant setback that will take some time to recover from.
The dream scenario for Martin was to take care of Motherwell and Dundee and be in a promising position for the visit of Celtic after the trip to face St Mirren. That didn’t even last 90 minutes. Just 180 minutes into the league campaign and Rangers are under huge pressure.
Late equaliser for @RangersFC! 🔵
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) August 9, 2025
Djeidi Gassama wins a penalty and James Tavernier converts from the spot 🎯
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Sections of the support will understand the situation that Martin and the new hierarchy inherited and appreciate that it was never going to be a quick fix. Yet the calls for patience and time can only be made when performances are produced and results are earned. Neither were here.
Two points from two Premiership matches can never be accepted. Even at this stage, Martin is on the back foot. Rangers only have themselves to blame.
Final third failures are alarming
The claps from Martin and assistant Matt Gill were designed to encourage as well as acknowledge. The rare good moments early on – including a lovely pass from Jefte that split the Dundee defence and should have ended in a goal – were appreciated from the sidelines. At other times, the message was to move the ball with more tempo.
Oliver Antman injected a bit of pace and precision into proceedings with a run from the right before finding Gassama. The shot was high and wide of target from the Frenchman. In that move where he collected the pass from Jefte, he should have had a shot rather than putting the ball back into a central area.
A Joe Rothwell free-kick clipped the Dundee wall with seven minutes of the half remaining. Jefte saw a strike whistle by Jon McCracken’s left-hand post. Apart from that, there was very, very little.
Mohamed Diomande saw his shot saved by McCracken after good work from Gassama. After the Dundee goal, Lyall Cameron headed just wide. By then, Rangers had become desperate and the dismissal of Djiga raised tensions.
John Souttar headed wide and a Tavernier strike met the same fate before McCracken saved from Antman. Tavernier sent the keeper the wrong way from the penalty spot but it was too little too late. Dessers thought he had won it but a VAR check halted the celebrations.
Dundee deserved their point
The opening half an hour went to plan from a defensive perspective for the visitors. A lot of the possession came in front of Dundee and in areas where Pressley would have been happy for Rangers to have it. As the clock ticked over, the bonus almost arrived.
A rare foray forward earned Dundee a corner. It was one that Rangers failed to deal with first time around before Finlay Robertson’s shot was blocked. Dundee recycled possession and Clark Robertson nodded a header back across goal. Jack Butland was beaten and gratefully grasped the ball after it rebounded off the woodwork as Ibrox breathed a sigh of relief.
The next corner came just minutes later. Once again, Rangers looked wholly unconvincing at dealing with it. The post was hit by Clark Robertson for a second time. The offside flag would have saved Rangers but the warnings were there and the signs were worrying.
It goes from bad to worse for Rangers 🤯
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) August 9, 2025
Nasser Djiga is shown a straight red card after bringing down Finlay Robertson 🟥
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The warnings were not taken on board. Callum Jones floated a free-kick to the back post and Clark Robertson won the first header. Astley won the second and diverted the ball over the head of Butland.
A VAR check for offside couldn’t save Rangers. Neither could the time left on the clock. Dundee were the butt of many jokes in the opening days of Pressley’s tenure. It was he who had the last laugh here, even though Dundee were denied their first win at Ibrox since 2001.
Crowd react to Martin changes
There were no WhatsApp messages and no social media posts on this occasion. Martin addressed the leaking of his team ahead of the visit of Plzen and sought to downplay the issue, saying that it was not coming from a place of potential sabotage. The news this time was not as interesting, anyway.
Martin challenged the same side that started in midweek to pick up where they left off. Max Aarons was fit to start at right-back, Cameron featured against his former club and the front three of Antman, Gassama and Dessers were backed to go again. If Martin had made alterations, some would have viewed it as change for the sake of change.
His first switch provoked quite the reaction from Ibrox. Kieran Dowell emerged from the dugout and Ibrox voiced its displeasure as a chorus of boos reverberated around the stadium. Nicolas Raskin followed him as Cameron and Diomande made way. Martin was in the firing line.
Tavernier replaced the ineffective and unimpressive Aarons. Rothwell was also removed as Martin added another forward in the shape of Danilo. The switch of Findlay Curtis for Jefte was just Martin rolling the dice.
New season, old failures at Ibrox
The message from the Union Bears was ‘Step up and Play’ as a pre-match display filled the Copland Stand. Fixtures such as this were far too troublesome for Rangers last season as opposition teams arrived at Ibrox with no sense of trepidation.
The fear factor has not existed for quite some time. If the fortunes are to change, that situation must change. That is what made this occasion so intriguing.
Quite simply, Rangers need to be better at just taking care of what should be fairly routine domestic fixtures. Recent history shows that they can raise their game for European ties and can match Celtic. Beating teams with fractions of their resources has been difficult and a repeat of those same mistakes will end with familiar outcomes. This was deja vu.
The signs at half-time were not encouraging. It was 45 minutes that so many had seen so often. Rangers had two third of the possession but didn’t register a single shot on target.
The second period was an insight into life at Ibrox for Martin and his new recruits. The crowd were rightly furious and the reaction to every mistake was visceral.
It was not as emotive as the reaction at the whistle. That told its own story as Martin and his players were left in no doubt about the feelings of the fans. The same failures continue to haunt Rangers.
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