Sporting Lisbon - NOT A LOT TO GET EXCITED ABOUT - But No Cause For Doom And Gloom Either

Last updated : 04 April 2008 By Little Boy Blue
The negativity of some Bears has had me double-checking the result for confirmation that this UEFA Cup tie is still very much alive and not done and dusted.

No, it was not the result we wanted, the performance left a great deal to be desired but, of all the home sides in UEFA Cup action last night, we are best placed to progress. I certainly wouldn't want to swop places with Fiorentina or Bayern Munich, yet reading some posts on the FF Messageboard, you would've thought we'd got a Bayer Leverkusen-like going-over.

The most significant factor last night was Sporting Lisbon's failure to snatch an away goal. Towards the end of the game, I felt it was coming but, thankfully, it didn't happen and they now have to make a big decision. Do they go for it in the home leg, possibly leaving gaps for us to exploit, or do they sit tight, look for us to make a mistake, or maybe even take the gamble of settling for a penalty-kick shoot-out?

Walter doesn't have that problem. Having failed to win the home leg, anything we get from the return game will be seen as a bonus. But we will get chances on the break and I certainly wouldn't bet against us putting one away. Then again, with Allan McGregor in the sort of form he is in, I'd maybe settle for a penalty decider right here and now.

We've reached a stage in the season where every match is vital, the result is more important than the quality of our game so, having played so badly, I don't think we can be too downhearted to have finished 0-0. Put it this way, I'll bet Sporting are well pissed off that they are still on level terms, with no away goal to fall back on if they find the Rangers to be a different proposition next week.

I don't think we're likely to have so many players out of sorts at the same time again. With one or two noteable exceptions, we were off the pace in so many areas of the field, losing the 50-50 battles and chasing the ball when we should have been holding on to it to build up some sustained pressure on the Portuguese goal. Lee McCulloch's first half shot and a couple of glimpses of goal in the second half were all we could muster on a very difficult night.

It certainly wasn't Kirk Broadfoot's finest hour in a blue jersey and, to be perfectly honest, I thought Walter would have stuck Steven Whittaker on for the second half. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an anti-Broadfoot moaner (unless we're talking about a certain Hack Packer!!!), the big guy is living the dream and never gives anything less than 100% but there are occasions, usually when we face better quality opposition, when sheer effort and commitment is not enough. We needed composure and guile to get behind Sporting but Kirk's bull-in-a-china-shop approach was never going to work.

He was not alone in failing to produce the needful. Both Barry and Steve Davis were as disappointing as I've ever seen them, Kevin Thomson was well short of the standard he'd set for himself last weekend and, while JCD and Lee worked hard, the Sporting defence handled them well.

Its a good thing King Carlos was immense as always. David Weir had a nightmare final half-hour and he can be thankful his partner and Allan McGregor were on the ball. Yet another clean sheet is the one big plus factor to come out of a largely disappointing game and, noting how prolificly Sporting have been scoring on the road, denying them an away goal could prove to be very significant indeed.

After all, if we can score three goals in Lyon, two in Stuttgart and one in Athens, there is absolutely no reason why we shouldn't also get on the mark in Lisbon.

LITTLE BOY BLUE