Rangers progressed to the quarter-finals of the UEFA
CUP despite going down 0-1 to SV Werder
For many, the night will go down as Allan McGregor's
finest ninety minutes in a Rangers jersey as the
goalkeeper produced a string of fine saves, including
one in the dying minutes that was reminiscent of Andy
Goram at his best.
At the other end, Tim Weise - the villain of the piece
in Glasgow - can seldom have had a quieter night.
With front men Daniel Cousin and Jean-Claude
Darcheville absent through injury, manager walter
Smith retained his favoured 4-5-1 formation, utilising
Nacho Novo as the lone striker in the one change from
the game at Ibrox.
Rangers were up against it from the opening minutes as
the home side sought to overcome the 2-0 first-leg
deficit.
Werder, semi-finalists in this competition last
season and currently lying second in the Bundesliga,
were all out to secure a crucial early goal - Almeida
heading over from an Aaron Hunt cross in ten minutes.
Four minutes later Swede Markus Rosenberg tested
goalkeeper McGregor with a drive from Hunt´s pass that
was beaten away.
Borowski might have done better in seventeen minutes
than volley over after Diego had picked him out with a
fine chip.
It was one-way traffic, and McGregor again kept his
goal intact five minutes later - denying Daniel
Jensen after the Dane connected with a Hunt
head-flick.
The Rangers goalkeeper was the busiest man on the
park, turning wide an eighteen-yard shot from Patrick
Owomoyela in 25 minutes after the full-back cut in
from the right.
Almeida did have the ball in the net sixty seconds
later when he headed a Hunt cross home only for a
lineman's flag to rule the effort offside.
The visitors' one effort on goal throughout the
first-half came on the half-hour mark when Nacho Novo
broke free on a Kirk Broadfoot pass only to see home
'keeper Tim Wiese parry his effort.
The half ended as it had begun with McGregor ensuring
his goal was intact at the interval when he held
Naldo's free-kick in forty minutes.
Charlie Adam was yellow-carded for a foul on Diego
right on the half-time whistle, a booking that will
keep him out of Rangers' next European tie.
The siege continued on the restart, with Jensen twice
denied by the Rangers goalkeeper - firstly in 49
minutes when the Dane's eighteen-yard shot from a
Rosenberg lay-off was touched over, then five minutes
later a twenty-yard drive was fisted away.
The deadlock was finally broken in 57 minutes thanks
to a piece of magic from Diego, the little Brazilian
creating space for himself from a poor clearance to
net with a fifteen-yard shot.
Rangers might have secured a priceless away goal two
minutes later when Northern Ireland International
Steve Davis misskicked in front of goal from a
Broadfoot cross.
Werder pressed incessantly, but Rangers remained
composed as the clock ticked down.
The closing stages saw the home side pile on the
pressure - a Naldo header from Diego's corner was
inches wide in 78 minutes.
McGregor produced a wonder save with six minutes left
when, at point-blank range, he somehow turned
substitute Boubacar Sanogo´s effort onto the underside
of the crossbar and out.
Just for good measure, the Scots goalkeeper again
defied the German surges, touching wide a 35-yard
piledriver from Naldo in 87 minutes.
Rangers survived to progress to the last
quarter-finals, and will await tomorrow´s draw with
keen anticipation.
Afterwards a happy Walter Smith summarised:
"We knew we would be under pressure. Allan McGregor
made some tremendous saves. I never expected to get
this far in Europe. We've worked very hard to get
here, and I'm delighted to be in the last eight."
WERDER BREMEN Wiese; Owomoyela (Harnik 77), Naldo,
Mertesacker, Boenisch; Borowski, Diego, Jensen, Hunt;
Rosenberg, Almeida (Sanoga 65)
UNUSED SUBS Tosic, Vander, Vranjes, Ozil
RANGERS McGregor; Broadfoot, Weir, Cuellar, Papac;
Davis, Ferguson, Hemdani, Dailly, Adam (Whittaker 56);
Novo (McCulloch 77)
UNUSED SUBS Alexander, Buffel, Thomson, Boyd, Naismith
Attendance 33,660