Ibrox in mood for party but it’s a case of deja blue as Macedonians give new boss a reminder of last season’s Europa flop
EUROPA LEAGUE RANGERS.........2 SHKUPI.........0 DAVID McCARTHY AT IBROX
ALLAN McGREGOR 6 Could only watch as Shkupi hit the bar early on but the keeper had little else to do except claw a dangerous cross wide. JAMES TAVERNIER Bombed on in first half and provided killer pass for Murphy goal then slotted crucial penalty at the end. CONNOR GOLDSON Missed a golden chance at the back post with a header when he should have scored but rock solid at the back. NIKOLA KATIC 7 Young Croat is still raw but hardly put a foot wrong at centre-half and looks like he can play a bit too. JON FLANAGAN 7 Rangers fans already love the Scouser’s tenacity at left-back. Doesn’t fly up the flank but knows how to defend. ROSS McCRORIE Tough night for him with a lot of responsibility on his shoulders as midfield anchor but never hid. DANIEL CANDEIAS 5 Deployed in unfamiliar position on the right of a midfield three. Too careless with possession and was hooked. SCOTT ARFIELD 6 Worked tirelessly and tried to be the one to charge from midfield into the box without making significant impact. JOSH WINDASS Still a Rangers enigma. Doesn’t look like he enjoys playing on right flank and fans cheered when he came off. ALFREDO MORELOS Squandered a couple of decent chances in the first half and didn’t hold the ball up well enough for Rangers as lone striker. JAMIE MURPHY 8 Rangers’ best and most creative player. Gave them a spark by grabbing opener then won penalty late on. SUBS: Ryan Jack – looked more comfortable in the middle of the park after replacing Candeias, 4; Ovie Ejaria – on-loan Reds kid got debut in place of Arfield and showed early signs of promise, 4; Glenn Middleton – lit Ibrox up in his cameo role, 5. Not used: John, Halliday, Docherty, Alnwick. SHKUPI: Zendeli, Adem, Tipuric, Bajrami (Bilaliat 45), Ndong (Krivanjevaat 90), Vujcic, Broja Stojkoski, Muarem, Ljamcevski (Shabaniat 61), Ilijoski. Subs: Aleksovski Bilali, Shabani, Krivanjeva, Veliu, Ismaili. Referee: Christian Dingert. 8 7 6 5 5 IT started with a wave of optimism sweeping Ibrox and ended with relief rolling round the packed stands as Rangers narrowly avoided a touch of deja blue.
James Tavernier’s 90th-minute penalty gave Steven Gerrard’s team a two-goal Europa League cushion against stubborn Shkupi.
The Macedonians looked for all the world like repeating the 1-0 defeat Progres Niederkorn got at this first stage in Govan last season.
And everybody knows how that turned out.
Gerrard’s first competitive match started brightly enough with a Jamie Murphy strike in 22 minutes.
But the Scouser watched his side miss chances and get bogged down for long spells before Murphy was fouled in the last minute and his skipper did the needful from the spot.
That gives Rangers a decent advantage in what is likely to be a scorching Skopje on Tuesday.
But the tie isn’t quite over, there’s still work to be done. It would have been a whole lot harder without that last-gasp spot-kick though.
The opposition might not have been stellar but Gerrard’s appointment has put stars in the eyes of the Rangers support. Every one of Ibrox’s 50,000 seats was filled, the place buzzing with anticipation.
The players who had travelled from Macedonia would have never performed in such an environment.
But if they were looking for any inspiration, the exploits of Progres may have provided it.
Much has changed at Ibrox since then of course. Not only has Gerrard arrived but he’s changed the face of the team in jig time.
Last night saw Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic, Jon Flanagan and Scott Arfield make their competitive debuts while Allan McGregor returned between the sticks.
The stadium was bouncing as Gerrard – suited and booted – took his place in the dugout.
It was quite incredible really. Trying to bark orders in the early stages was impossible unless he’s mastered semaphore.
Rangers monopolised possession early on and won the ball back quickly on the few occasions any white-shirted player got a touch.
But other than a Murphy shot from the edge of the box after keeper Suat Zendeli had parried a Daniel Candeias cross, the visitors weren’t seriously troubled in that spell.
Their massed ranks would have to be unlocked and patience – not a massive commodity in these parts – looked like being required.
Right out of the blue 50,000 hearts were in mouths as Shkupi’s first proper venture into home territory came close to giving them a shock lead. Tavernier was beaten too easily by overlapping left-back Nchama Owono and his cutback was powered goalward from 20 yards by Ron Broja.
It flew above McGregor’s hand but clipped the bar on the way over the top. The first ripples of anxiety were felt and not only in the stands.
A couple of wayward passes offered further encouragement to the Macedonians but that was snuffed out when Murphy scored the first competitive goal of the Gerrard era. A surge down the right between Tavernier and Candeias led to the Portuguese sweeping a cross to the inrushing Murphy.
The 28-year-old beat a man before his left-foot drive seemed to go through Zendeli and into the net.
Gerrard punched the air but reined in the celebrations. The goalie had given him a helping hand and there was still work to be done.
Zendeli redeemed himself with a save to deny Windass’s header and the same man went close seconds later as Rangers upped the tempo.
They should have scored another