Croatian international goalkeeper Ivor Pandur played his first official match for his new club, while Vicko Ševelj appeared for Dundee United until the 77th minute.
The new Scottish Premiership season kicked off on Friday evening with a 1-1 draw between Dundee United and Rangers, and the match at Tannadice had a strong Croatian flavor. Croatian international goalkeeper Ivor Pandur made his debut for the visitors, while midfielder Vicko Ševelj, a former Hajduk youth player, featured for the hosts until the 77th minute.
According to Slobodna Dalmacija, Pandur joined Rangers this summer from Hull City, with whom he earned promotion to the English Premier League. This was his first official match in the colors of the Scottish giants, and he managed to keep a clean sheet in the second half after conceding in the 38th minute.
The hosts took the lead in the 38th minute. Lachlan Rose latched onto a low cross from Jesse Randall from the left side of the box and slotted it home for 1-0, reports The Guardian. Rangers equalized in the 56th minute when Norwegian international Thelo Aasgaard controlled the ball superbly, shrugged off a defender, and unleashed a powerful left-footed strike from 16 yards into the top corner, leaving Jack Walton with no chance.
As reported by Sky Sports, the new era under manager Derek McInnes began with a stumble. McInnes had told his players before the match, "Just win", but instead he became the fourth Rangers manager in history to drop points in his first league match in charge of the club.
The match could have gone Dundee United's way in the 84th minute. New Zealand international Jesse Randall found himself one-on-one with Pandur after a brilliant pass from substitute Daniel Bennie, but his effort was so weak that the Croatian goalkeeper easily gathered the ball, The Guardian describes. On the other hand, Rangers threatened late on through Youssef Chermiti, but Walton made a save with his foot to deny him.
Rangers also handed debuts to Ben Godfrey, Cammy Devlin, and new captain Lawrence Shankland, the former Hearts striker. Shankland had a chance to give his side an early lead in the fourth minute, but his clever backheel was stopped by Walton. The Guardian notes that in the starting lineups of both teams, there were only two Scots, the captains of both sides.
While Pandur played the full match for the visitors and made several saves, including a comfortable catch from Randall's late effort, Dubrovnik native Vicko Ševelj left the pitch in the 77th minute. He is a former Hajduk youth player who also featured for the club's B team, and he "kicked his way" to the Scottish Premiership via clubs in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia, according to Slobodna Dalmacija.
As reported by HRT Sport, both Croatian players put in solid shifts in a match that marked the start of the new Scottish football league season.
