Dundee´s Thomson spoils Rangers´ night

Rangers missed the chance to regain top spot in the Scottish Premier League after it took a last minute Kevin Thomson goal to secure a 3-3 draw against Dundee United.

Rangers' long unbeaten record at Ibrox now stretches 20 games but the draw in this rearranged match means they have fallen two points behind league leaders Celtic.

Steven Davis had opened the scoring before a Sandaza double fired United into the lead. Sasa Papac scored his first goal for Rangers to equalise but a second-half Scott Robertson goal looked to have given United the win before Thomson scored.

Rangers fielded an unchanged side from the one which demolished Inverness 5-0 on Saturday but United proved to be a tougher opposition and looked comfortable when in possession.

However they lacked any cutting edge up front and it was Rangers who took the lead after ten minutes through Davis. Kenny Miller found the Northern Ireland international on the edge of the box and he jinked past three United defenders before unleashing a screamer past Lukasz Zaluska.

Dundee United equalised six minutes later. Morgaro Gomis slipped the ball to Sandaza who first-time effort whistled past Allan McGregor low into the net from 18 yards.

Kris Boyd had the ball in the back of the net in 18 minutes after collecting a great pass from Pedro Mendes but he was adjudged to be offside. The striker had another effort ruled out just three minutes later when Kirk Broadfoot was ruled offside as he collected a pass on the wing before squaring it to Boyd in the box.

United took the lead after 26 minutes when Spaniard Sandaza got his second of the game. Paul Dixon charged forward and found Robertson in the box whose shot was palmed away by McGregor to Sandaza who tapped in the rebound.

Miller came close to equalising in the 33rd minute when he robbed Sean Dillon of the ball on the byeline before racing into the box and flashing a curling effort which just went wide of the far post.

Rangers equalised in the 38th minute when Papac got his first goal for the club. The Bosnian internationalist took a touch after collecting a Nacho Novo chipped pass in the box before rifling the ball past Zaluska.

Rangers came out for the second-half fired up and it took just less than a minute for Boyd to sting the hands of Zaluska with a effort from the edge of the box following a surging forward run from Davis.

It then took a superb one-handed save from the Polish keeper to deny the striker in the 53rd minute when he unleashed a powerful high shot after Miller found him in the box.

But it was United who took the lead in the 58th minute when a defensive lap allowed Robertson to score. A long throw from Dixon was missed by everyone and the midfielder was at the back post to knock it in.

Boyd should have equalised for Rangers three minutes later when Kevin Thomson found him unmarked in the box but he hesitated before letting fly and Zaluska managed to turn it round the post.

Mendes fired in three long range efforts in a row with the last forcing a good save from Zaluska. Miller was the next to try his luck but he never tested the keeper with his effort from 18 yards in the 72nd minute.

United's Craig Conway was terrorising the Rangers defence down the left wing and he tried to set up Sandaza for his hat-trick in the 80th minute but the Spaniard's shot on the turn flew over the bar.

Rangers threw on captain Barry Ferguson and Kyle Lafferty in their quest for an equaliser but it was Thomson who darted past several tackles before unleashing an unstoppable shot past Zaluska in injury time to give Rangers a share of the points.