Lawrence was the hero as Rangers scored an early goal to beat Dundee United.

It was cruel to watch.

But Rangers have largely overcome their Old Firm woes.

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A fine early goal from Tom Lawrence was enough to secure a point in a closely contested Tannadice game.

There were more yellow cards than any decent attacking effort from either team combined, and an upset referee, Don Robertson, showed 11 in total, including a yellow card to Rangers manager Philip Clement for a lack of turn-taking in the second half.

But the truth is, this game doesn’t stay in people’s memory for long.

But while Clement said on Friday he needed to treat Dundee United like yesterday’s Manchester United, his team first and foremost needed a win.

The team jumped out to an early lead and tried to ride that momentum, but lost their way.

United gradually got back into the game but the closest United came to securing a point after a disappointing result was when defender Ross Graham headed the ball just wide midway through the second half.

For Rangers, after their performance and result at Celtic Park, winning wasn’t just the main thing – it was the only thing.

In that sense, job done, but Rangers, who came into the game having won just one of their last seven league games during a miserable run stretching back to February, struggled after a strong start.

Clement made three changes to the team that comfortably beat Celtic, bringing in Kieran Dowell, making his second start of the season, top scorer Lawrence and Oscar Cortes in place of Dujon Sterling, Labi Matondo and Vaclav Cerny, all of whom were taken ill in training on Saturday.

Rangers fans were in large numbers on Tayside and cheered for an early penalty when Cyriel Desalle pounced on James Tavernier’s cross and collided with Emmanuel Adegboyega, going down in the penalty area.

After a VAR check with Greg Aitken, referee Don Robertson allowed play to continue, to the fury of the visiting supporters.

But soon afterwards they were rather pleased when Rangers took the lead in the seventh minute.

United allowed Rangers to dominate the ball early on and made amends when Dessers played the ball to Lawrence, who dribbled past Declan Gallagher to seize the ball and lofted it over the onrushing Jack Walton.

It was the perfect start for Gers, who were under close scrutiny, but a terrible slip-up for Jim Goodwin’s side.

This put Rangers in control, Dowell cutting in from the right and shooting with his left foot, but Walton was able to get hold of the ball at his second attempt.

Rangers were fending off a nervous United side at will and after Dessers and Lawrence linked up again, Cortes tested Walton with a right-footed shot.

United’s performance after the first 30 minutes was so weak that manager Jim Goodwin replaced Kevin Holt with Ross Doherty and changed to a back four.

United played through the first half without any interruptions but came close to conceding a second goal in added time when Mohamed Diomande fed Dessart, only for the striker’s shot to be blocked by Walton.

It was a typical Dessalle moment: he had time to think about the opportunity, and when he does, it usually ends badly.

United made another change at half-time, bringing on Croatian defender Biko Sebelii to try and get back into the game after Adegboyega was booked for a charge at Connor Barron.

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Rangers also made a substitution, with Albania international Nedim Bajrami coming on for Cortes.

United resumed the match with some momentum, and midfielder David Babunski urged the home supporters to be more vocal after winning a hard tackle on Lawrence.

And his team began to show more offensive intent, as Babunski’s Macedonian compatriot, Christian Trapanovski, dribbled along the 18-yard line and fired a shot off Jack Butland’s goalpost.

Trapanovski was again active, reacting to a long ball from defence from United, but he moved too late and his shot was snatched away by Dowell.

Lawrence had a good chance to fire the ball over goal but Rangers struggled to make an impact and United continued to have the upper hand.

However, most of Rangers’ incursions into the box came from long throw-ins from Ross Graham rather than proper build-up play.

And the hulking defender came close to putting United on the equaliser after meeting Will Ferry’s corner, only for his header to go just wide.

An aerial attack looked United’s best chance of breaking through but there was a sense that their chances vanished along with it.

Rangers launched a rare forward push at the time and substitute Hamza Ighmane fed Lawrence, but Walton dived low to his right to make a save.

But United kept up the pressure and Trapanovski crossed from the left, Butland was able to parry it away and Rangers could only heave a sigh of relief when Doherty’s volley from the edge of the box went just wide.

Lewis Malt was an impressive player in Motherwell’s victory over Rangers in the Betfred Cup semi-final in 2017 and was brought on at a time when United were thriving in attack and looking to finish.

But despite their forwards being active and reacting to flicks from fellow substitute Sam Dalby, United could not find a way to breach the opposition’s defence.

Gers substitutes Bajrami and Nico Raskin were both booked for wasting time as Rangers ran out the clock to secure three valuable points.

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