Lafferty earns Rangers Tannadice draw

The visitors were comfortable at half-time thanks to Kris Boyd's early strike but United soon turned the game on its head as Lee Wilkie and Warren Feeney both converted Paul Dixon crosses within four minutes.

Rangers struggled to get back in the game until substitute Lafferty finished well 14 minutes from time and they pushed in vain for a late winner.

Third-placed United had lost only one of their previous 14 games, but Rangers took a grip on the game in the 11th minute when Boyd notched his 17th goal of the season.

Boyd controlled Steven Whittaker's inside pass on the edge of the box after Garry Kenneth had been fooled by Steven Davis's dummy, and fired a left-foot volley into the bottom corner.

Allan McGregor saved the visitors in the 29th minute when he reacted brilliantly to push away Jon Daly's downward header, while Kenny Miller came close after Wilkie lobbed his own keeper as he struggled to deal with a long ball.

United came out after the break looking like a different side. Daly headed Craig Conway's cross two yards wide before Wilkie levelled in the 50th minute.

The defender had gone forward for a free-kick in the centre-circle, which United took quickly and spread out to Dixon.

The left-back advanced to the by-line and sent over a superb cross beyond the far post, where Wilkie got in front of Sasa Papac to angle the ball into the top corner. Iain Brines soon rejected a penalty claim when Mihael Kovacevic slid in on Miller just inside the box. The full-back got the ball but it was debatable whether he took too much of the man first.

Rangers found themselves behind in the 54th minute when Feeney ghosted in to nod home with a powerful downward header but subs Nacho Novo and Lafferty combined for a 76th-minute equaliser. The Spaniard drove forward and slipped the ball to the unmarked Lafferty in the left channel, and the Northern Ireland international calmly rolled the ball into the far corner.