Attendance 46,213
It was a night when the Ibrox men produced their
finest display of the season to ensure a meeting with
Atletico Osasuna in the next round - with Brahim
Hemdani, Chris Burke, Kevin Thomson, Barry Ferguson
and Nacho Novo outstanding.
The one black mark of the night for the Light Blues
arrived with the ordering-off of goalkeeper Allan
McGregor - but this was an occasion to relish for the
46,213 spectators.
Manager Walter Smith made three changes from Sunday
with Chris Burke, Kevin Thomson (making his home
debut) and Gavin Rae replacing the injured Karl
Svensson, Libor Sionko and Charlie Adam against a
Hapoel side unchanged from the first leg in Tel Aviv
eight days ago.
The match kicked off with the news that Maccabi Haifa
(whom Rangers had defeated during the group stage) had
eliminated CSKA Moscow in Tel Aviv), underlining the
progress made by Israeli clubs over the past decade or
so.
There was an impressive level of support for the
visitors - and the first yellow card of the evening
arrived as early as the third minute when Ram Doani
body-checked Burke as the winger embarked on a mazy
run.
Only the width of the crossbar denied Alan Hutton the
opener sixty seconds later when his back-header from a
Ferguson corner came back off the woodwork.
Rangers were all out for the crucial opener - and
Ferguson saw an eighteen-yard drive from a Kris Boyd
lay-off whistle just wide.
Hapoel were dangerous on the counter-attack, and when
Elyaniv Barda broke down the right his low cross was
just missed by Barukh Degu before finding Salim Toama
who shot wide in nineteen minutes.
The opening goal was delayed only four minutes however
- and when it arrived it was thankfully at the right
end, Ferguson rifling the ball into the roof of the
net from a Novo cutback after the Spaniard had been
freed down the right by a Burke flick.
Rangers were now ahead on the aggregate score, but
Hapoel responded swiftly - with Degu testing McGregor
with a 22-yard shot from Dani Bondarv's cross that the
goalkeeper held in 33 minutes.
Sixty seconds later however it was 2-0 when Josef
Abukasis somehow, with time and space aplenty, saw his
square pass intercepted by Boyd who slotted the ball
home.
Rangers had turned the tie on its' head - and it was
almost 3-0 in 38 minutes when Ferguson's thirty-yard
free-kick was held by Israeli goalkeeper Shavit
Elimelech.
Three minutes later a cleverly worked corner saw Rae's
eighteen-yard volley from Burke's kick headed off the
line by Doani.
Hapoel were only too aware that they trailed by only
one goal on the aggregate score - but it was Rangers
who carried the greater cutting edge with Burke
embarking on yet another mazy run on the hour, cutting
in from the left before seeing his eighteen-yard shot
touched over by Elimelech.
Two minutes later at the other end Antebi's
twenty-yard shot from Barda's cutback was held by
McGregor.
Dado Prso replaced Boyd to a tumultuous welcome in 63
minutes - and the Croatian soon repaid the welcome
when, released down the right by Hutton, he squared
the ball for Ferguson to prod the ball home in 72
minutes.
3-0 ahead, Rangers should have been well on their way
to the last sixteen yet before the game had even
restarted there would be yet another twist in the tale
when incredibly McGregor was red-carded following a
clash with Hapoel substitute Luciano De Bruno.
The goalkeeper had taken possession of the ball in his
own half after it had been booted downfield for the
restart. De Bruno, desperate for a prompt resumption
of play, was frustrated when McGregor simply dropped
the ball and promptly booted it at him, whereupon the
Ranger shoved his opponent. Unbelievably Italian
Referee Matteo Simone Trefoloni red carded McGregor
but took no action against De Bruno.
Stefan Klos took over in goal, replacing Novo for his
first appearance in fifteen months.- and suddenly
Hapoel scented blood, fully aware that two goals
against a depleted side would see them through.
Rangers however were still dangerous on the
counter-attack, and Prso almost sealed victory in 79
minutes when, through on a Ferguson chip, he saw his
shot strike Elimelech's legs and rebound to safety.
Eight minutes later the Croatian was through again,
cutting in from the left on a Ferguson pass only to
shoot over.
Even at this late juncture a Hapoel goal would have
put the outcome of the tie back in the melting pot -
and it almost arrived in 88 minutes when substitute
Ivan Jolic's header from Toama's corner struck the
crossbar.
Five minutes of injury time added to the intensity of
the atmosphere - but it was the home side who rounded
off the scoring with the final act when substitute
Charlie Adam stroked the ball home from the edge of
the area following a one-two with Hutton.
Afterwards a relaxed Walter Smith summarised:
"This was a terrific result and performance. It was a
difficult game to approach. Allan McGregor claims he
never touched the player."
Hapoel Coach Nir Leven was honest enough to admit:
"Rangers deserved to win. The first goal made a big
difference. We wish them well for the future."
RANGERS McGregor; Hutton, Hemdani, Weir, Murray; Burke
(Adam 89), Rae, Thomson, Ferguson, Novo (Klos 75);
Boyd (Prso 63)
UNUSED SUBS Sionko, Sebo, McMillan, Perry
HAPOEL TEL AVIV Elimelech; Abukasis (Vermouth 65),
Ogbona, Antebi, Badaer; Bondarv, Barda, Degu (De Bruno
45), Doani; De Oliveira (Jolic 79), Toama
UNUSED SUBS Ben Shandan, Chen, Abutbul, Perez
REFEREE Matteo Simone Trefoloni (Italy)