Rangers 1 (Thompson 86) CSKA Moscow 1 (Vagner Love 59)
Attendance 49,010
This result will undoubtedly have serious implications
for the club in view of the financial restraints that
they are obliged to operate under, thanks to years of
financial mismanagement by the majority shareholder
and former Chairman.
The game could well have turned on a controversial
decision by German Referee Wolfgang Stark not to allow
a stunning fortieth minute goal from Nacho Novo,
deciding instead to award a free-kick TO Rangers, but
in truth the Russians always looked the more
accomplished side, and on the balance of play over the
two legs deserved to progress.
Rangers of course were forced to omit Alex Rae from
tonight's line-up, thanks to UEFA's draconic and
wholly unjustified five-match suspension. Craig Moore,
who let the club down so badly to pursue his
ill-advised Olympic dream, was astonishingly included
in the starting line-up, and almost inevitably was
responsible for CSKA's crucial away goal.
Manager Alex McLeish made two changes from the side
that defeated Hibernian on Saturday with the
aforementioned Moore and Dragan Mladenovic replacing
Zurab Khizanishvili and the suspended Rae. CSKA Coach
Valeriy Gazzaev also made two changes from the side
that had defeated Rangers 2-1 in Moscow with Sergey
Shevich and Evgeny Aldonin replacing surprise omission
Rolan Gusev and Vasiliy Belezutskiy.
There was a one-minute silence prior to kick-off in
memory of the Russian Air Disasters, and when play
commenced before a capacity crowd, with thousands
locked outside, it was the visitors who made the early
running - Jiri Jarosik testing Stefan Klos in three
minutes with a twenty-yard shot that the Ibrox Captain
was equal to.
Rangers were struggling to control the midfield, yet
might have snatched the lead in seventeen minutes when
a Fernando Ricksen cross, headed down by Dado Prso,
found Peter Lovenkrands who skied his effort over the
bar.
Two minutes later Chidi Odiah was allowed to move
forward unchallenged to the edge of the box, his
effort being just too high.
The Russians were far too comfortable in possession
for the liking of the 49,010 crowd, and Vagner Love
(the source of so many problems in the first-leg) was
presented with a golden opportunity to open the
scoring in 23 minutes when a misplaced Ricksen pass
found him on the edge of the box. The £5m Brazilian
striker saw his shot parried by Klos, and the danger
was cleared.
The game erupted in controversy on forty minutes when
Novo shrugged off a challenge on the edge of the box
before sending a twenty-yard screamer into the roof of
the net. Unbelievably the German Referee awarded a
free-kick TO Rangers, despite the recent FIFA
directive that referees have discretion to allow play
to continue before making their decision.
The half ended goalless, with Wolfgang Stark
attempting to explain his decision to countryman
Stefan Klos as they left the field, but an unforgiving
crowd ensured the referee left the field to a
crescendo of boos.
CSKA remained the likelier side, Vagner Love being
inches away with a twenty-five yard swerving shot that
only just missed the target in 52 minutes.
The night changed irrevocably seven minutes later
however when Craig Moore allowed Jarosik to get in
behind him from an Ivica Olic pass, before squaring
across the face of goal where Vagner Love turned the
ball home.
It was a catastrophic goal to lose, and the many who
believed that Moore should not have been allowed to
cross the Ibrox threshold ever again had their views
justified.
Rangers now had a mountain to climb, yet might have
equalised in 62 minutes when Mladenovic was denied
when his 25-yard drive produced a one-handed save from
Igor Akinfeev.
Immediately afterwards Steven Thompson replaced the
hapless Lovenkrands, but it was Vagner Love who almost
made it 2-0 five minutes later when his low shot on
the turn was held by Klos.
Klos again came to the Light Blues' rescue on seventy
minutes when Olic was clean through, but ten minutes
later came the last throw of the dice when Marvin
Andrews replaced Mladenovic.
With memories of Roger Hynd and Colin Jackson from
earlier European campaigns, Andrews was thrown up
front in a bid to unsettle the Russian defence, and
within six minutes the move produced an equaliser when
Jean-Alain Boumsong's long ball was nodded down by
Andrews allowing Thompson to net from the edge of the
box.
Suddenly Rangers were pouring forward in search of a
second goal that would mean extra-time, and two
minutes later a free-kick some 25 yards out saw
Gregory Vignal's low drive produce a superb one-handed
save from Akinfeev, the rebound falling to Andrews who
alas sent his effort wide.
That was effectively Rangers' last chance, and the
final whistle soon afterwards meant that a Russian
club had eliminated the Ibrox men for the first time.
Alex McLeish afterwards defended his team selection
and tactics:
"It was a difficult game against a good side who have
pace and strength. We are still a side in the process
of rebuilding. We could have taken it to extra-time."
On his use of substitute Marvin Andrews, 'Eck'
defiantly stressed:
"I'm not the first manager to throw a centre-half up
front."
Defiantly, he concluded:
"Time's a great healer - there's still a lot to be
played for this season."
In the final analysis, the absence of Alex Rae was
perhaps crucial.
RANGERS Klos; Ricksen, Boumsong, Moore, Vignal;
Arveladze, Mladenovic (Andrews 80), Hughes,
Lovenkrands (Thompson 62); Prso, Novo
UNUSED SUBS G. Smith, Malcolm, Khizanishvili, Vanoli,
Ross
CSKA MOSCOW Akinfeev; Shevich, Semberas, Odiah, A.
Berezutskiy; Aldonin, Jarosik, Rahimic, Zhirkov; Olic
(Semak 76), Vagner Love
UNUSED SUBS Laisans, Mandrikin, Gusev, Osmar,
Kiritchenko, V. Berezutskiy
REFEREE Wolfgang Stark (Germany)