Rod Wallace brought Rangers an improbable victory at Tannadice last night, sweeping a right-foot shot into the empty net from a cross by the substitute Gabriel Amato in the last minute of a match from which the home side deserved at least a draw.

Normally a fixture which can be relied upon at least to produce excitement, if not glittering football, this game took an inordinate time to warm up. By the time Scott Wilson scored for Rangers in the 32nd minute the only promising moments had come from two missed chances by Stephane Guivarc'h, who was soon replaced, through injury, by Amato.

The best of those chances came when Sergio Porrini's pass down the right was misjudged by Neil Duffy, whose attempted interception left Wallace in the clear. The resulting centre was low and true but Guivarc'h, unchallenged by any defender, bent to make the header and completely missed the ball. United's vulnerability made a goal inevitable and it arrived when Giovanni van Bronckhorst's corner from the left found Wallace on the right. His chip was met by Wilson, whose header was deflected past Combe by De Vos to give the 21-year-old defender his first goal for the club.

It was poor defending too which gave Billy Dodds the equaliser 10 minutes later. Joe Miller's corner from the left was headed out by Jorg Albertz to De Vos, who played the ball back into the box. Dodds had a shocking amount of time to kill the ball and turn, sending a left-foot volley past Stefan Klos from six yards.

Dodds's goal clearly had an energising effect on the home side, whose resistance and commitment thereafter belied a team who had won only once in nine games.

They came close to being rewarded midway through the second half, when Erik Pedersen's ball down the left to Alex Mathie brought a cross which was cushioned by Dodds to Craig Easton. The midfielder's low, powerful drive was blocked by Lorenzo Amoruso.

A minute later Miller teased and then squeezed past Tony Vidmar on the right and his low cut-back was deflected inches wide of his own goal by Wilson. Then came Wallace and the goal that broke Dundee hearts.

Dundee Utd: Combe, Malpas, Pedersen, Easton, Mathie, Dodds, Miller, Duffy, De Vos, Mols, Pascual. Subs Not Used: Olofsson, Dolan, Thompson, Skoldmark, Gallacher. Booked: Pedersen. Goal: Dodds 43.

Rangers: Klos, Porrini, Amoruso, Ferguson, Van Bronckhorst, Albertz (Miller 71), Guivarc'h (Amato 35), Wallace, McCann (Johansson 75), Wilson, Vidmar. Subs Not Used: Brown, Malcolm. Booked: Wilson. Goals: Wilson 32, Wallace 90.

Referee: M McCurry (Glasgow).