Rangers should have been down to 10 men after Dundee flashpoint – Gary Bowyer
Rangers edged their way into the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup on Wednesday (19 October) as they beat Dundee 1-0 at Ibrox.
Veteran Steven Davis scored the only goal of the game inside the first 10 minutes before the Gers took their foot firmly off the gas and coasted to the end of the game.
It could have been more nail-biting for Giovanni van Bronckhorst as Fashion Sakala got involved in the game’s biggest flashpoint but the Zambian escaped with a yellow card.
“I felt Fashion Sakala should have been sent off for his challenge on Cammy Kerr,” Dundee manager Gary Bowyer said, as quoted by the Dundee Courier. “I’ve seen it back and it is a red card. That would have made the game interesting if they were down to 10 but it wasn’t to be.”
Rangers have been drawn in the semi-finals against Aberdeen which means they could face either Celtic or Kilmarnock in the final.
Subjective
The incident Bowyer refers to is a prime example of a subjective decision and one that he will see as a red card but van Bronckhorst would have a totally different view.
It all comes down to the rose-tinted spectacles every manager wears which are naturally skewed to the team they are in charge of and the referee made the right call overall.
Officials should try to avoid giving out red cards for small incidents like this one as much as they can to keep games entertaining for longer periods – even if this was a bit of a dud.
The Rangers manager will be concerned that his side had so many struggles trying to break down a Championship side that aren’t even dominating the second tier right now.
Of course, some of that was down to a rotated side but the quality on the pitch was still far better than that of Dundee and not many who played made their case for a Premiership start any better.
In other Rangers news, it was a far more prolific midweek for this Auchenhowie teenager who is making a claim for first-team involvement this season.