Attendance 47,401
Rangers have a mountain to climb when they travel to
Copenhagen in two weeks time if they are to qualify
for the Promised Land that is the UEFA Champions’
League following tonight’s 1-1 draw with FC Copenhagen
at Ibrox.
A performance that at best can be described as
disappointing only served to highlight the
deficiencies in the Scottish Champions’ line-up
following the drain of talent out of Ibrox during the
summer.
There were no changes in the home side from that which
had defeated Kilmarnock so comprehensively last
Saturday, with three of the new arrivals finding a
place on the bench, namely Paulo Vanoli, Nuno Capucho
and Henning Berg.
Rangers made a dream start when a dipping Mikel Arteta
free-kick in seven minutes deceived Danish goalkeeper
Balazs Rabuczki who could only push the ball out into
the path of Peter Lovenkrands who swept the ball home.
That early strike brought the Stadium to life with
47,901 spectators (including a healthy contingent from
across the North Sea) inside. Arteta almost raised the
decibels even higher when his twenty-yard drive from a
Michael Ball pass flew over the bar.
Copenhagen were breaking forward at every opportunity
however – Stefan Klos denying Thomas Larsen when his
eighteen-yard shot was turned round the post in 29
minutes.
Two minutes later Rangers spurned a great chance to go
two up when an Arteta cross was headed on by Craig
Moore. Michael Mols, unmarked on the six-yard line,
turned the ball goalwards only to see Rabuczki spread
his body to block the shot.
It was far from one-way traffic however – Sibusiso
Zuma dispossessed Zurab Khizanishvili some thirty
yards out and advanced into the penalty area before
testing Klos with a low drive.
The half ended with Rangers 1-0 ahead, but the single
goal advantage was wiped out five minutes after the
restart when – with little danger apparent – Hjalte Bo
Norregaard’s thirty-yard drive was deflected into the
path of Todi Jonsson who swivelled on the
eighteen-yard line before dispatching a low left-foot
drive beyond Klos into the net.
The strike was the first goal conceded by Rangers
against Danish opponents in a European tie, but the
third consecutive Ibrox European tie in which the home
side have conceded an away goal.
It was a hammer blow for Rangers who had lost the
momentum built up during the first-half. Copenhagen
however were invigorated by the securing of an away
goal, and began to dominate the midfield.
There was an increasingly desperate air about
proceedings from a home point of view, perhaps
reflected in Alex McLeish’s 58th minute substitution
of Nuno Capucho for Maurice Ross.
The only danger emanating from the home side however
was from Mikel Arteta’s free-kicks, one of which found
Khizanishvili (by some way the best performer in the
Ibrox ranks). The Georgian’s 67th minute drive was
however blocked, and the danger cleared.
Two minutes later Steven Thompson replaced the
anonymous Ronald De Boer, but the Light Blues never
looked like regaining the upper hand in the closing
stages.
Rangers were struggling desperately now against a side
who were certainly well organised and hard working,
and the final whistle brought a crescendo of booing
from a hugely-disappointed home crowd.
Manager Alex Mcleish afterwards acknowledged his
dissappointment with the second-half:
"We started so well, but now need to score in
Copenhagen."
He refused to comment on the performance of Ronald DE
Boer, who was a grave dissappointment.
There is now a massive task ahead if Rangers are to
progress in this tournament – the draw that paired
them with the Danish Champions was not nearly as kind
as that which paired the Scottish Runners-up with MTK
Budapest, effectively a bye into the Champions’
League, so poverty-stricken is the current state of
Hungarian football.
RANGERS Klos; Ross (Capucho 58), Moore, Khizanishvili,
Ball; Ricksen, Ferguson, Arteta, Lovenkrands; Mols, De
Boer (Thompson 69)
UNUSED SUBS McGregor, Nerlinger, Malcolm, Vanoli, Berg
FC COPENHAGEN Rabuczki; Tobiasen, Svensson,
Albrechtsen, Rooba; Mykland, Nielsen, Bo Norregaard,
Larsen; Zuma, Jonsson (Moller 76)
UNUSED SUBS Svard, Zivkovic, Bisgaard, Traore, Bech,
Kihlstedt
REFEREE Manuel Gonzales (Spain)