By Alistair Aird
When Rangers succumbed meekly to Motherwell the last time they played at Ibrox, even the most positive people in the Rangers populace must have feared the worst. Fenerbache away would be followed by Fenerbache at home then an Old Firm fixture at Parkhead. Three horrendous hammerings were forecast. Barry’s boys would be battered.
But at around 7.45pm last Thursday, a large tranche of humble pie was being consumed. Ferguson had masterminded a wonderful win that but for a matter of millimetres would have seen Rangers win by four clear goals. Players put their bodies on the line – none more so than John Souttar and Leon Balogun – and adapted seamlessly to the change in ‘structure’ Ferguson had introduced. The 3-5-2 was flexible and formidable, with the forward forays of Dessers and Cerny striking fear into the hearts of the Fenerbache rearguard. Mourinho had been mastered in his own back yard.
Coming back to Ibrox with a two-goal cushion suddenly propelled Rangers into the ‘favourites’ pen. And the home heroes had history in their favour too. That 2-1 reverse at the hands of Motherwell meant that the current crop joined the classes of 1971, 1994, 2001 and 2012 in losing three on the spin at Ibrox, but since the cessation of hostilities at the end of World War II, no Rangers side has lost four successive home matches. Tonight was most certainly not the occasion to rewrite the history books.
It had been a positive week for Rangers off the park as the proposed takeover took a step closer to completion. In a season that has too often been mired in mediocrity, it was important that that momentum and upward trajectory continued. And what better way to do that than by progressing to the last eight of the Europa League.
Ferguson made two changes to the team that had started in Istanbul. Robin Propper, concussed after a collision with Jack Butland, missed out as did Ridvan Yilmaz. Their places were taken by Leon Balogun and Dujon Sterling, and that gave the XI an even more solid look.
The question now was how both teams would approach the match. Would Rangers set up camp and park the proverbial bus and invite Fenerbache forward, or would they come out and look for an early goal that would further energise an already electric Ibrox? And how would ‘The Special One’, a manager who had built his legacy by setting up his teams with a defensive mindset, send his troops into battle? Would they come out hard and fast and try and unsettle and upset the Ibrox applecart with an early goal or would they be patient and poke and probe to try and pierce holes in what would no doubt be a thick blue line?
In his pre-match presser, Ferguson talked of the iconic Ibrox atmosphere on nights such as this. He had sampled it first hand as a player and captain in several of his 74 European appearances and he wouldn’t have been disappointed when the teams were led out ahead of the 8pm kick off.
The stadium was rocking and rolling as the Europa League anthem, composed by Michael Kadelbach, a former hip-hop producer who supports Eintracht Frankfurt, blared out through the sound system. There were shades of Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade, Braga and RB Leipzig, a run of fixtures that ended in Spain. Would this one be the start of a run that would end up in a location some 536 miles away from where heroism was witnessed, and heartache was endured three years ago in May?
Nico Raskin got the ball rolling bang on 8pm with Rangers attacking the Broomloan Road end, and the game swung back and forth in a frenetic opening. The home side slung a couple of crosses into the area while Balogun had to be alert to nick the ball off the toes of the advancing Talisca. A sliding, tenacious Raskin then skidded the ball into the danger zone where it was thumped clear for a corner. The Fenerbache goalkeeper flapped at the delivery, but as is customary these days, he was let off the hook as the referee felt he had been challenged unfairly.
On the sidelines, Ferguson was seen to be urging calm after a ragged spell of play that saw his players loose with their passing. And it seemed to have the desired effect as Rangers carved out the first real opening after 11 minutes.
Diomande lofted the ball wide to Jefte and his cutback gave Cerny a sight of goal. Unfortunately, the wide man failed to get a decent contact on his shot and the ball was sliced away from goal. Moments later, Cerny’s effort from the edge of the box was pouched by Egribyat in the opposite goal. And he clutched the ball again when Diomande looped a header on target from a Tavernier free kick.
Ibrox was at fever pitch at this moment. There was a lot to be shout about too as the home side had started well and looked to have taken the sting out of their opponents. And the decibel level rose when one of the Fenerbache forwards was booked for diving on the edge of the box following a challenge from Jefte.
Fenerbache forced their first corner after 22 minutes, but it came to nothing, ending with Rangers on the counterattack. Alas, the final pass from the surging Diomande that was intended for Cerny was undercooked and any danger was averted.
Cerny, with eight goal involvements already in the competition this season, rippled the side netting with another daisycutter from distance. Some of the supporters thought his shot had gone in. But the chance was created by tigerish and tenacious tackling in the heart of the pitch by Connor Barron, a hallmark of Rangers’ play in the opening quarter of the game. The players were crunching into challenges, winning their duels and coming out on top in most of the 50/50s.
If there was one small crumb of criticism it was that the Rangers players were taking a touch or two too many when in promising positions. Cenry was the chief sinner as he hugged the ball too often when a pass to Dessers or a shot at goal would have been the better option. Raskin did likewise when teed up by Barron, preferring to take a touch to steady himself before shooting. A first time effort may well have borne more fruit.
As half time approached, Ferguson was still animated in the technical area. He could however be satisfied with how the match was panning out. Jack Butland hadn’t been troubled and the best Fenerbache could muster was a shot from En-Nesyri that trundled well wide of the target.
There was a poignant moment on 40 minutes when the Rangers family rose in unison to recognise the loss of one of their own. Applause rippled round Ibrox to mark the passing of Christopher Potter. He had lost his life in Istanbul and his heroes were putting on a display that would have made him proud.
Right on the half time whistle, disaster struck. The ball was crossed into the box and Szymanski evaded Tavernier and swept the ball into the net. Butland had no chance and a match in which Rangers had been comfortable was back in the melting pot. The dynamic had changed, the first leg advantage halved.
The atmosphere at the start of the second half was more subdued. The was a discernible nervousness as Fenerbache zipped the ball around looking for the goal they needed to restore parity on aggregate. The traffic was flowing in one direction, and it was towards Jack Butland’s goal.
But five minutes in, Rangers advanced. Sterling scuttled away from his marker on the right and was impeded. Cerny’s free kick caused a good old-fashioned stramash and there was a holler for a penalty kick when Dessers went down in the box. Alas, replays showed that the Nigerian had clumsily tripped over one of the Fenerbache defenders.
After 54 minutes, Dessers did well to force a corner kick and from Tavernier’s delivery, Souttar leapt highest but his header dropped harmlessly wide.
The first change of the evening followed shortly afterwards. Looking in some discomfort, Sterling was withdrawn and replaced by Ridvan Yilmaz. The little Turk has blown hot and cold in the right back berth this season, but he did well to block a shot from Kostic shortly after his introduction.
Rangers were doing little to slow the heart rate of their exasperated supporters. Passing was loose and careless and once again they were over elaborate in forward areas. That was on the rare occasions when the ball stuck and was retained.
This was another night when we were witnessing the enigmatic nature of Cyriel Dessers. Dominant and ruthless in the first leg, he spent much of the first hour of this one frustrating himself and the fans. A failed attempt to execute a scissors kick when he was picked out in the box by Cerny summed up his contribution up to this point.
After 65 minutes, Fenerbache came within a whisker of levelling matters. A cross was hung to the far post and Talisca rose to meet it and his header fell inches wide of the post.
Something had to be done to stymie Fenerbache and one thing Ferguson hasn’t been afraid to do during his tenure is make changes. And he did so again, taking off Dessers and Diomande and Igamane. It worked too as there was suddenly more zip about Rangers as illustrated by a shot from Igamane that was tipped away for a corner by Ebribayat. Tavernier then fizzed in a shot from range that was a foot or so too high.
That interlude raised the volume again in the stands but the tie was still on a knife edge. And it was all square when Fenerbache went 2-0 up with 18 minutes to go. Jefte missed his tackle and when the ball was pulled back, Szymanski netted his second of the night.
Mourinho decided at that point to pitch Tadic and Dzeko into the mix. He was flexing his muscles, unwrapping the big guns in his arsenal. Could this Rangers team, who were lolling on the ropes, dampen their ardour and nullify them?
It didn’t look like it. Fenerbache were rampant although they were helped the ropiness of Rangers. It seemed like a matter of time before the knockout blow was landed.
Bajrami, ineffectual again, sliced wastefully over the bar shortly before Jefte was taken off and replaced by Ianis Hagi. The change saw Rangers revert to 4-2-3-1, and Hagi was centimetres away from making an instant impact as he slid in to try and connect with a low cross from Barron.
Cerny ballooned a shot into the Copland Stand as the clock ticked towards 90 minutes. Was there going to be a winner in normal time or was an additional half hour and perhaps penalty kicks be required to separate the sides?
Cerny didn’t have the legs to take him clear of the Fenerbache defence as the game moved deep into the five minutes of stoppage time. And during that time, Fenerbache should have sealed the deal too, passing up several good openings. It took a late lunge from Tavernier to thwart the best of them too, the captain doing enough to put the Fenerbache forward off.
A shot from Yilmaz was the last action of the 90 minutes. In truth, Rangers had been so ragged and ropey second half that they were fortunate still to be in the competition. The goal before half time hadn’t just taken the wind out of their sails, it had almost capsized the boat. Ferguson and his coaching staff had some work to do to lift their players at this point, not just physically but mentally too.
Shortly after Dzeko had headed the first chance of extra time wide, Rangers made a change. Connor Barron, who had put in a solid shift, looked to have gone down with cramp and he was replaced by Tom Lawrence. It was like-for-like, with Lawrence slotting in alongside Nico Raskin.
The game by now was a bit cat and mouse. Neither team seemed to want to overcommit. But 10 minutes into the first half, Cerny almost carved out the decisive goal. He cut in on to his favoured left foot and arrowed a shot towards the top corner that was clawed away by Egribayat.
It appeared as if Cerny, who looked shattered, was going to be taken off at the start of the second period of extra time, but after getting his muscles pummelled by the masseurs, he was kept on.
Hagi had done well since his introduction and his hassling and harrying earned Rangers a free kick on the edge of the box. It was in Tavernier territory. But although he got the ball up and over the wall and had it dipping towards the bottom corner, Egribayat parried it away. Nonetheless, it was much more encouraging from Rangers.
Amrabat blazed a shot high into the stand as the clocked showed that there were only three minutes left before kicks from the penalty mark would be required to decide who would travel to Bilbao in the quarter finals.
Butland made a fantastic stop although the goal wouldn’t have counted as the flag was raised for offside. That came moments before the fourth official indicated that there would be three minutes added on. And it would be a spell filled with last gasp interventions, notably from Souttar and Tavernier.
Thus, for the first time since Seville, a European tie involving Rangers would be settled by a penalty shoot out. As the players took on fluids, debate raged over who would be the nominated penalty takers. Tavernier seemed to be the only certainty among the five that would step up for Rangers.
The captain won the toss when it came to the choice of ends. The penalties would be taken at the Copland Road end. Edin Dzeko looked to have won out when it came to deciding who struck first. It would be Tadic for Fenerbache. His left footed shot struck the legs of Butland! It was first blood to Rangers.
Tavernier as expected was up next. His penalty was coolly and clinically despatched into the bottom corner. The veteran Dzeko got Fenerbache on the board before Cerny stepped forward to take Rangers’ second penalty. It would be left footed and smashed down the middle as the goalkeeper dived to his right.
Dijku sent Butland the wrong way to make it 2-2 before Hagi came forward. His tame effort was tipped on to the post. It was all square again, but the drama wasn’t over.
Butland plunged to his right to superbly parry away Fred’s shot and Tom Lawrence drilled his effort home to make it 3-2. And when Yandas blazed his effort over the bar, Rangers had done it. From the jaws of defeat, they had snatched what for long spells in the second half looked like an unlikely victory.
The bandwagon with wheels that have been rickety several times refuses to be derailed. It will therefore roll on and carry with it hope that this season can still have a silver lining. The next obstacle in April sees Rangers entertain Atletico Bilbao at Ibrox before heading to the venue that will host the final a week later. It will be a tough test again for a Rangers side that is rather fond of a Thursday. And with the Jekyll and Hyde team of ours, who knows what will happen over the two legs. But one thing is certain it will be an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.
