Andy Halliday instantly reacts to Djeidi Gassama penalty shout vs Dundee United after Rangers outrage

Andy Halliday believes contact was made in Djeidi Gassama's call for a penalty against Dundee United.

Derek McInnes named his first-ever competitive starting eleven as Gers boss against the Terrors, playing Gassama on the left wing.

The Bears started off on the front foot in Tannadice, but Jim Goodwin's side gained more momentum towards the break, and found the opener through a tap-in from Lachlan Rose.

However, one possible defining moment of the match was when Gassama went down after a challenge from Dundee centre-back Bert Esselink, with the former going down holding his head.

The travelling Light Blues fans behind the goal were screaming for a penalty, but referee Nick Walsh didn't give the Bears what they wanted.

Halliday has spoken on Gassama's incident, and his words may not sit well with Rangers fans.

Andy Halliday has his say on Djeidi Gassama penalty call

Gassama's future has remained uncertain all summer, and the possibility of him leaving Ibrox could go down until the final day of the window.

However, it appears he has the trust of McInnes, who made a big call to start the Frenchman.

The former Sheffield Wednesday man went up for a header in the box around the 15-minute mark, and it appeared he took a big bump from Esselink, who cleared the ball.

Rangers fans were in uproar behind the goal, but as mentioned, Walsh didn't give a spot-kick.

Speaking on BBC Sportsound, Halliday said: "[Chuckles] Not quite, I think Esselink just uses his arm as leverage to go and attack the ball.

"I definitely think there is contact, but I don't think there's much force in it; he just uses his arm to try and hold off Gassama.

"There's contact, but not enough for a penalty."

Rangers started the first period of the game well, but quickly faded, as McInnes will need to find answers in the second 45.

What Rangers learned from first half under McInnes

Halliday was certain that McInnes needed to make changes at the break, which he may do.

The Rangers boss had his notepad out towards the last 15 minutes of the first half, and quickly sank to his dugout after Dundee's breakthrough.

It's clear that the Govan side are putting a heavy emphasis on quality from out wide, but Dundee's defence has stood strong and cleared basically everything that's come their way.

The Bears aren't scared to play direct either, but perhaps they are stooping to their opponents' level, and funnily enough, the hosts have played better combinations of play.

McInnes just needs to calm his side down, play football, and they will hopefully come out firing in the second 45.