Rangers are through to the third qualifying round of the Champions League
following tonight¹s tie in Kaunas - but the goal-less draw was scarcely one
of the Light Blues most memorable European nights on their first ever visit
to Lithuania.
The intense of the afternoon had cooled considerably by kick-off at 17.30
local time but the Darius Gireno Sports Stadium was hardly the most
intimidating of venues for Rangers, secure in the knowledge that they held a
4-1 lead from the first leg in Glasgow - the three sided uncovered ground
accommodating perhaps 4,000 fans for the game. perhaps 100 of them
supporting Rangers.
Tugay made a surprise return to the starting line-up whilst perhaps there
were no places even on the substitutes bench for Jorg Albertz and Neil
McCann.
The game had no sooner started than Tugay was spoken to by the referee for a
foul on Marius Bezykornovas an indication perhaps that Rangers were
determined not to be intimidated by the physical nature of their opponents.
An early goal would have settled any unease about the outcome of the tie and
Rod Wallace found himself clean through on goalkeeper Gytis Padinanskas
following a one-two with Billy Dodds only for his drive from a tight angle
to be blocked.
The first yellow card of the evening was shown to Fernando Ricksen in the
8th minute for a foul on the home side¹s captain Audrius Ksanavicius but
within 60 seconds a lightening break by the Ibrox men following a goal mouth
scramble in front of Klos should certainly have paid dividends when Tugay
released Giovanni Van Bronkhorst for a direct run at the Kaunus defence
before feeding Fernando Ricksen with a squared ball - the Dutch fullback
striking the crossbar with a shot form the edge of the area, Rod Wallace
heading the rebound over from right in front of goal.
The Rangers fans amused themselves with chants of ³If you hate the Daily
Record clap your hands² but at least two sad souls in the home support
sporting Celtic tops whilst one banner prominently displayed in green
lettering on a white background proclaimed ³we support Celtic² - perhaps not
all that surprising as Lithuania is 90% Roman Catholic.
Bert Konterman received Rangers¹ second yellow card of the game for a foul
on Audrius Ksanavicius - by far and away the home side¹s best player -
before Rangers were almost caught out on the half-hour when a quick thrown
in by Ksanavicius left Zuta clean through on goal only for his weak
finishing effort to be directed straight at Klos. Dedura came within inches
of finding the net with a header from a Ksanavicius corner but Rangers
certainly had the balance of play and possession and Padinanskas was called
into action to deny Van Bronkhorst following a one-two with Billy Dodds.
A goal less first half was not exactly the sort of action the Rangers fans
had been looking for following their long journey but Padinanskas again
denied the Gers early in the second half when he dived at Wallace¹s feet
from a Ricksen through ball before Lorenzo Amoruso chalked up yellow card
number three for a foul on Velicka.
The popularity of Russian winger Andrei Kanchelskis here in Lithuania was
demonstrated when he received generous support when coming on as a
substitute for Ricksen in 75 minutes. Another Rangers substitute, Allan
Johnston, almost opened the scoring in 81 minutes with a turn and shot from
a Barry Ferguson pass that Padinanskas turned wide with a flying save.
But the last action of a frankly dreadful game came right on the 90 minute
mark when Van Bronkhorst cleared a Ksanavicius header fro a Dedura flick off
the goal-line to save Rangers the embarrassment of a defeat.
Rangers manager Dick Advocaat expressed his satisfaction at a job done but
emphasised that there was a real need to improve - he paid tribute to Kaunas
as a well-organised and good side with one excellent player - the captain
Audrius Ksanavicius.
Rangers would need to work on their sharpness but underlined that the more
games that were played with new players in the team and the more players
played together the more settled the side would become but admitted that
tonight's display would not be good enough next week in Denmark.
As he left the press conference Advocaat turned to his opposite number, the
Kaunus coach, and shaking his hand said ³well done, good game.² He must
have been kidding!
For Rangers the only consolation from an abysmal display is that they are
through to the next round but they will have to improve out of all
proportion if they are to defeat Herfogle.
The final word on a bleak night must surely lie with one female English
spectator who asked of this correspondent at the end of the game ³was that
really Rangers?²
