Attendance 24,000
Manager Alex McLeish made no fewer than nine changes
from Saturday with only Marvin Andrews and Bob
Malcolm retaining their places in the starting
line-up. Feyenoord on the other hand made just four
changes.
Paul Gascoigne received a rapturous reception prior to
kick-off.
Both sides wore change strips – ironically Rangers
wore red whilst their Rotterdam opponents were light
blue and white halved shirts, thus creating a problem
for the Ibrox debutant goalkeeper Graeme Smith who was
obliged to change his light blue jersey after five
minutes, replacing it with a blue outfield top.
The Dutch were dominant throughout the first-half,
without being able to convert any chances.
Smolarek headed over from a Goor cross in eleven
minutes, then the latter should have done better than
shoot wide from a Bosschaart cutback four minutes
later.
Salomon Kalou was the most dangerous forward afield,
but he spurned one opening in 23 minutes when Patrick
Mtiliga’s shot was deflected into his path.
Smith was proving equal to the task – saving a Danko
Lazovic header from a Mtiliga free-kick on the
half-hour.
Kalou again came close just before the interval,
heading Christian Gyan’s cross wide.
Rangers made two changes at the interval, introducing
Alex Rae and Gregory Vignal. Smith now wore a black
goalkeeper’s jersey.
Stephen Hughes had a golden opportunity to open the
scoring five minutes into the second-half, only to
head a Maurice Ross cross over.
Kalou was still a handful – breaking free in 53
minutes he shot across the face of goal, then sixty
seconds later Romeo Castelen saw his angled drive
beaten out by Smith.
Smith again came to Rangers’ rescue just past the hour
when he deflected a Lazovic effort following a long
pass from Shinji Ono.
Substitute Nacho Novo should have broken the deadlock
in 71 minutes, clean through following a one-two with
Shota Arveladze he somehow shot wide of the target.
The game ended goalless, but in a dramatic penalty
shoot-out Rangers emerged triumphant when Ross
McCormack, Charlie Adam, Novo, Malcolm, Rae, Ross,
Alan Hutton, and finally Hughes converted their kicks.
Only Zurab Khizanishvili missed for the Ibrox men,
when he had a chance to win the shoot-out at 6-6.
Alex McLeish afterwards expressed his satisfaction
with the weekend’s work. Referring to Sir Bobby
Robson’s absurd comments of yesterday, ‘Eck’ stated:
“The Rangers’ fans have been phenomenal – they have
made this tournament. Alan Shearer will be taken off a
lot this season if yesterday is a guide.”
RANGERS G. Smith; Hutton, Vanoli (Vignal 45);
Khizanishvili, Andrews (A. Rae 45), Hughes; Arveladze
(McCormack 74), Malcolm, Thompson (Novo 68), Ross,
Brighton (Adam 85)
UNUSED SUBS Ricksen, Klos
FEYENOORD Babos; Van Den Berg, Bosschaart (Pardo 45),
Ono, Lazovic, Goor, Mtiliga, Smolarek (Castelen 45),
Paauwe, Gyan (Zuiverloom 45), Kalou
UNUSED SUBS Lodewijks, Ghaly, Buffel, Loovens,
REFEREE Mark Halsey