Champions League with a stunning 2-1 win over German
Champions VfB Stuttgart at Ibrox tonight.
It was one of the great European nights at The
Stadium, a night of sensational drama and passion with
a match played in a magnificent atmosphere in front of
a capacity crowd.
Outstanding for the home side were Alan Hutton, Barry
Ferguson and Jean-Claude Darcheville who enhance his
reputation in Europe's premier competition. It was a
thoroughly deserved win against quality opposition.
Four years ago Rangers defeated Stuttgart in the
opening Champions League group fixture, and in many
ways this evening's match was a rerun of that meeting,
with the home side again coming from behind to
overcome such illustrious opposition.
Manager Walter Smith had stunned Ibrox with a team
selection that saw four changes from the Tynecastle
debacle with Barry Ferguson, Brahim Hemdani, Charlie
Adam and Jean-Claude Darcheville replacing Amdy Faye,
DaMarcus Beasley, Daniel Cousin and Kris Boyd. The
selection of Adam was a stunner, given that he had not
started a game since the visit of Zeta on 31 July.
Stuttgart fans travelled in impressive numbers, with
their team having just two survivors from the side
that palyed Rangers in 2003 - namely captain Fernando
Meira and Brazilian forward Cacau.
Both sides made a cautious start, but it was the
visitors who were first to threaten in eight minutes
when Mario Gomez was clean through on goal only to
shoot wide of the target.
Four minutes later Darcheville's angled drive from an
Adam pass was beaten away by goalkeeper Raphael
Schafer.
Adam's selection may have been a surprise to the
49,795 crowd, but so too it appeared to Stuttgart, as
his 25-yard snap-shot flashed wide in 22 minutes, then
on the half-hour mark his thirty-yard free-kick curled
inches wide.
Two minutes later Darcheville turned Serdar Tasci on
the halfway line from a Sasa Papac pass before
embarking on a solo run down the left that ended when
Schafer blocked his effort.
Stuttgart remained an ever-present danger however,
underlined in 35 minutes when Cacau's overhead kick
from Arthur Boka's cross was held by Allan McGregor.
The interval arrived with the scoresheet blank, but
ten minutes after the restart the Bundesliga Champions
took the lead when, with Ferguson off the park
receiving treatment for a head knock, Gomez flicked
the ball home from a Sami Khedira cross.
The Ibrox captain returned after an absence of some
eight minutes, his re-appearance lifting the crowd.
There was an even greater boost in 61 minutes when
Rangers equalised with a really special goal -
Hutton's penetrating run carrying him to the edge of
the opposition penalty box before a sliderule pass to
Adam saw the Scot cut inside the full-back before
rifling the ball home with his RIGHT foot.
1-1, and Ibrox was alight as the Light Blue legions
sensed a massive victory.
Stuttgart were still dangerous however - Carlos
Cuellar's error in 64 minutes releasing Cacau through
on goal only for McGregor to deflect his shot wide.
Sixty seconds later Beasley replaced Adam, who had
fully justified his selection, and Rangers should have
had the lead in 71 minutes when Darcheville's slip
freed Steven Whittaker, but with the goal at his mercy
he sliced his shot pathetically wide of the target.
That miss scarcely mattered however - for within three
minutes it was 2-1 when Darcheville executed a perfect
penalty after Hutton, embarking on another deep run,
was scythed down by Fernando Meira.
Indeed the tackle was a quite appalling one that
should have merited a red card for the Stuttgart
captain instead of the yellow administered by Italian
Referee Stefano Farina.
The German Champions attempted to force their way back
into the game, substitute Ewerthon testing McGregor
with a 25-yard shot that the goalkeeper held in 81
minutes.
Darcheville departed to a standing ovation sixty
seconds later, being replaced by Nacho Novo.
Ferguson almost sealed the win in 87 minutes when his
angled drive from a Novo cutback was touched over by
Schafer.
Beasley should have added a third goal in the dying
seconds when he was released by a sliderule Ferguson
pass only to be blocked by Schafer.
Time was up however - and the referee's final whistle
signalled a momentous Rangers victory over the
Bundesliga Champions.
Afterwards a contented Walter Smith reflected:
"I'm delighted with the win. We came back well after
losing the opening goal. We worked hard after what was
perhaps a shaky start. Perhaps that was understandable
given that we had not a lot of players with Champions
League experience. It's a tough group, and any win is
important."
Stuttgart Coach Armin Veh summarised:
"I am most unhappy. We controlled the game in the
first-half, and were in command at 1-0. We lost due to
three bad minutes. The Rangers support were
fantastic."
The result gives the Light Blues a tremendous boost
for the remaining sectional ties to come, tough as the
group undoubtedly is, for after tonight's success
against the best the Bundesliga has to offer the
cynics who predicted that Rangers would suffer six
defeats from six games have been silenced.
Next up is a visit to Lyon, and a result there will
leave the Light Blues in a strong position in the
group.
RANGERS McGregor; Hutton, Weir, Cuellar, Papac;
Whittaker (Faye 85), Ferguson, Hemdani, Thomson, Adam
(Beasley 65); Darcheville (Novo 82)
UNUSED SUBS Boyd, Carroll, Broadfoot, Cousin
STUTTGART Schafer; Osorio, Tasci, Fernando Meira,
Boka; Hilbert, Pardo, Antonio (Ewerthon 69), Khedira
(Basturk 77); Cacau, Gomez
UNUSED SUBS Marica, Langer, Beck, Farnerud
REFEREE Stefano Farina (Italy)
Attendance 49,795