John Fleck leads Rangers to 2-0 victory over Dundee United

John Fleck returned to the Rangers starting grid and the seventeen year old did not disappoint as he scored his first goal for the Gers, in route to 2-0 victory over Dundee United today.

The match started with a flourish as the Rangers came out with attacking intent in front of the Ibrox faithful. However both sides show a stubborn defending force that limits the final third and legitimate scoring opportunities are few and far between. Rangers hopes fell as four minutes before the break Nacho Novo pulled up lame with an hamsting injury, forcing Kenny Miller quickly into the match but with nary an effort, the match goes to the break scoreless. With sixteen minutes remaining Walter Smith calls upon Kyle Lafferty for Kris Boyd in an effort to find the much needed goal to pull the Rangers in front. However the hero of the day is reserved for young Mr. Fleck, as after being pulled down in the area by Mihael Kovacevic and the spot being pointed-to, he picked the ball up and insisted upon taking the attempt himself. With calm the teen drove the ball into the net to give the Gers the 1-0 lead. However the visitors came storming back and came within a whisper of leveling a few minutes later off a set piece. Deep into added time Kyle Lafferty opportunistic play was rewarded as he got on the end of a poor clearance of Lukasz Zaluska and promptly dispatches the ball into the back of the net.

Following the match, Walter Smith said of the teens performance and the Rangers success:

"The first thing is you realise is that Kris Boyd wasn't on the pitch. But John has taken penalties all through his time and he was dead keen to do so.

"It shows that he has the confidence and it was great for him to get that goal.

"We had to work very hard for our win. Both the clubs having games in midweek had an effect, especially for Dundee United who went to penalties and the emotional part of that.

"We never really got started in the game. We only gained an impetus after we scored. From then on we played well.

"The way United set up their team made them difficult to break down. That has been the cornerstone of what has been a successful period for them.

"They have a very solid base and they spring forward from there so they are not an easy time to play against.

"You need to have care when you play against them and make sure you don't play into their hands. They are always dangerous at set plays and we had to handle that.

"We had one or two nervous moments from long throws and free kicks but we achieved a clean sheet and it was a good win in the end."