Cup following a dramatic late Nacho Novo goal in Athens
tonight, the 1-1 draw with Panathinaikos sending the
Ibrox men through on away goals to face Werder Bremen
in the next round.
Manager Walter Smith made three changes from
Kilmarnock with Novo, Steven Davis and Charlie Adam
replacing Chris Burke, the injured Lee McCulloch and
the suspended Jean-Claude Darcheville.
Kris Boyd started for the first time in a European tie
since the Champions League qualifiers, whilst Alan Gow
somehow found a place on the substitute's bench.
Rangers, wearing all-blue, were soon under pressure
from a Greek side celebrating their centenary.
Andreas Ivanschitz threatened with a thundering
eighteen-yard wide-angled free-kick that Allan
McGregor fisted out, Carlos Cuellar blocking Marcelo
Mattos' shot from the rebound.
It was only a brief respite alas - for seconds later
the home side took the lead when their captain Ioannis
Goumas turned some 22 yards out to send a stunning
effort into the net.
Rangers were up against it, but were still just one
goal away from salvation. Panathinaikos were equally
aware of this of course - and it took a timely tackle
from Cuellar to deny Helder Postiga in 33 minutes.
Nine minutes later Novo might have levelled the score
when he cut in on a Sasa Papac cross only to see his
left-foot shot turned over by his Ibrox nemesis Mario
Galinovic.
Christian Daiily made his Rangers debut in 65 minutes
when he replaced the injured Papac, at the same time
as Steven Naismith substituted for Adam.
Three minutes later Loukas Vintra almost caught
McGregor by surprise with a 25-yard shot that the
'keeper touched wide.
Dailly was making an immediate impact, keeping Light
Blue hopes alive in seventy minutes with a timely
tackle on Dimitris Salpingidis.
Eight minutes later Ivanschitz saw his fifteen-yard
shot deflected wide as Panathinaikos sought the killer
second.
The tie however changed irrevocably in eighty minutes
when Barry Ferguson fed Burke wide on the right, the
substitute's volley breaking to Novo who slotted the
ball home and buried the ghosts of Ibrox eight days
ago.
Rangers were through - and afterwards a composed
Walter Smith looked back:
"Panathinaikos were the better team in the first-half.
but the away goal was always going to be a factor as
the game went on.I was delighted that Nacho got a
goal. The team has surprised me over the course of the
season. The League has always been our priority, but
you can't choose which competitions to progress in."
Panathinaikos Coach Jose Peseiro was honest enough to
admit:
"We were playing against a good team."
ATTENDANCE 20,000