Vaclav Cerny's 10th goal of the season gave Rangers victory over Dundee and moved them up to second in the Scottish Premiership for the first time this season.

After being frustrated in the first half, Rangers struck one minute after the break when Danilo played in Cerny, who ran through and scored after neatly rounding goalkeeper Trevor Carson.

It should have been more, too, as Rangers cracked the crossbar four times.

Ianis Hagi and James Tavernier were unlucky to see their long-range efforts stay out before the opener, but Hamza Igamane ought to have scored from five yards to make it 2-0 and instead found the under side of bar.

Cyriel Dessers also found the frame of the goal in stoppage time as Rangers looked to kill the game.

Before that Hagi thought he had netted his side's second and his first since May 2023 but was flagged offside.

In the end, though, one goal was enough for Rangers to win their fourth straight league game and move above Aberdeen into second, eight points behind Celtic, who play on Sunday.

Dundee remain in seventh spot after failing to substantially test goalkeeper Liam Kelly, who was called in to replace Jack Butland after the warm up, although Simon Murray's late effort was cleared off the line by Robin Propper, only for the offside flag to go up.

Cerny, despite frustrating at times in his early Rangers career, continues to be the man who comes up with big moments.

And while this game should not just have come down to his goal, it proves he remains the one with the most poise and composure in the final third.

He is an elegant player to watch as he bobs and weaves away from defenders, and he did so efficiently to leave Carson flailing at his feet for the goal.

Four wins in a row in the league is Rangers' best run of the season and they have leapfrogged a struggling Aberdeen into second.

Hagi continues to impress and bring an extra dimension to Rangers' attack, while Igamane is raw but coming on strong.

However, their lack of ruthlessness left them open to a sucker punch at the end and Dundee nearly provided it.

The short-term task is to win every game up until the Old Firm derby at Ibrox on 2 January when they have a chance to lay a glove on Celtic.

After a week off following their defeat at Tynecastle, Dundee would have come to Ibrox well prepared, and their first-half showing had its fair share of dig and defensive bravery - with some luck thrown in.

The frustration for manager Tony Docherty will be the ease at which Rangers scored just a minute after the break.

On a rare foray forward they committed a lot of numbers into attacking areas, and one loose pass ended up costing them.

Rangers pounced and Cerny had the entire Dundee half to run into.

And though some profligate finishing helped them stay in the game, they managed it and more composure might have allowed them to snatch an equaliser.

Their next three games - at home to Ross County, away to St Mirren, and then the Dundee derby at Dens Park present a big opportunity.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement: "We had good chances but you need the second goal to kill the belief of the opponent, that's what we missed. We had enough opportunities to score the second or third goal.

"We always want to give our fans more than 1-0. We want to score three, four. We didn't succeed today - the crossbar didn't help today but we need to keep the momentum going.

"People don't need to worry about Jack Butland, he missed out for personal reasons and it was very short term. He will be back for the next game."

Dundee manager Tony Docherty: "I thought it was a strong performance given the form Rangers have been in. You need to make sure your defensive organisation is there and it was excellent in the first half.

"But I did ask the boys to be a bit braver in the second half. I thought we did that and we were a real match for Rangers right to the death, pushing for the equaliser.

"I'm proud of the players. Six of my starting players were 22 or under and three academy graduates."