Dundee 0-3 Rangers: That's Moore like it as winger helps Danny Rohl make it three out of three

For all of Rangers’ highly dubious summer recruitment overseen by under-fire sporting director Kevin Thelwell, one smart piece of business is starting to emerge.

Mikey Moore made a slow-burning start to his time at the Ibrox club, perhaps suffering amid the general inconsistency and regular calamities of Russell Martin’s wretched tenure.

The 18-year-old Spurs winger now looks as if he is hitting his stride in what may just prove to be a highly productive loan spell at Ibrox.

Moore’s recent performances have suggested that Danny Rohl is capable of getting the best out of him and he delivered his most influential display yet in this comfortable victory at Dens Park.

As Rohl made it three league wins out of three since replacing Martin last month, Moore scored his first goal for Rangers in between Nico Raskin’s opener and a late strike from Djeidi Gassama.

It is still too early to proclaim them as genuine title contenders, given the obvious imbalances which remain in the resources at Rohl’s disposal.

Yet the reality is that Rangers have lost just once in the Premiership this season and are now gathering a semblance of momentum which is nudging them closer to the top of the table.

These are still embryonic days under the German coach but Rangers, domestically at least, have a sense of purpose and direction which was woefully lacking on Martin’s watch.

Dundee, by contrast, are struggling to find any meaningful traction. Their win over Celtic last month now looks like an outlier as Steven Pressley’s side remain in a perilous position at the wrong end of the table.

They had their moments in this match but not enough of them and none which carried conviction. Pressley still has his work cut out to get the Dundee supporters onside.

Rohl continues to tinker with both formation and personnel as he attempts to maximise the potential of the much-criticised squad he inherited from Martin.

There was an element of going back to basics here as he lined up with a back four and recalled Bojan Miovski at the point of attack with Gassama and Moore deployed on the flanks.

Before Rangers could settle into the formation, they were grateful to Jack Butland for preventing them from falling behind in the third minute.

Mohamed Diomande was caught flat-footed as Tony Yogane surged past him, the Rangers midfielder resorting to a clumsy foul to halt the Dundee forward.

Ethan Hamilton struck the free-kick from 25 yards as sweetly as he could have hoped but Butland was up to task as he stretched to divert the ball over.

Rangers’ response to that early scare was positive as they began to dominate possession and knock the ball around with a fair degree of pace and precision.

Their ninth minute opener, however, owed as much to wretched defending by Dundee as it did to any brilliance on their own part.

Raskin, whose aerial ability belies his relatively diminutive stature, was left completely unmarked on the edge of the six yard box as he rose to meet James Tavernier’s corner from the right and send a clever header beyond the helpless Jon McCracken.

The Dundee keeper was beaten again five minutes later as Rangers looked to exert real authority on proceedings.

The home defence was again slow to react as Danilo, operating in a deeper position just behind Miovski, played the ball into the path of Moore just outside the penalty area.

It wasn’t an easy chance by any means but Moore finished it with supreme confidence and no little skill as he guided a low right-foot shot beyond McCracken’s right hand into the corner of the net.

Pressley had seen his original game plan go up in smoke and responded by switching to a back four. The damage, though, had already been done.

It looked as if it had got even worse for the hosts 10 minutes before the interval when Moore had the ball in the net again, finishing cleverly from a tight angle after John Souttar and Danilo had seen shots blocked.

Rangers’ celebrations were halted by a lengthy VAR review, however, which determined that Diomande had been in an offside position affecting play in the build-up.

Unusually for a manager whose team are 2-0 up, Rohl opted to make a triple substitution at the start of the second half as Thelo Aasgaard, Connor Barron and Youssef Chermiti all entered the fray.

The injection of fresh energy almost brought an immediate reward when Aasgaard worked himself into a good position and saw a powerful shot touched wide by McCracken.

Moore continued to earn the approval of the Rangers fans with the physicality, directness and imagination of his play. He came close to scoring again in the 57th minute when, after linking up cutely with Aasgaard inside the box, his shot was bravely blocked by Paul Digby.

Rangers were pushing hard for the added insurance of a third goal and McCracken came to Dundee’s rescue once more with a smart save to keep out a shot from the jinking Gassama.

The introduction of Simon Murray gave Dundee greater presence up front and the striker got his team back on the front foot with a shot which Butland made a meal of gathering.

It was Rangers who finished on top, however, and after McCracken made a superb reaction save to keep out another smart header from Raskin, they sealed a satisfying afternoon’s work in the 90th minute when Gassama cut in from the left and curled home an unstoppable shot.

At full-time, Rohl embraced the acclaim of the Rangers fans who had sung his name throughout. In the Premiership, his team are striking the right note at last.

Dundee (3-4-3): McCracken 7.5; Astley 6, Graham 6, Koumetio 6; Wright 5 (Dhanda 59), Digby 6, Hamilton 6.5, Samuels 6; Congreve 6, Acquah 5.5 (Murray 59), Yogane 6 (Reilly 81). 

Booked: None. 

Manager: Steven Pressley 5.

Rangers (4-2-3-1): Butland 7; Tavernier 7, Souttar 7, Cornelius 7 (Djiga 82), Meghoma 6; Raskin 7.5, Diomande 5 (Barron 46); Moore 8 (Antman 66), Danilo 6.5 (Aasgaard 46), Gassama 7; Miovski 5.5 (Chermiti 46). 

Booked: Raskin. 

Manager: Danny Rohl 7.5.

Referee:  Matthew MacDermid.

Attendance: 8,562.