PIC & MIXED
Job done but selfie-grabbing fans will remember photos with Kop idol more than game
THE selfies for which Steven Gerrard posed will linger longer in Macedonian memories than his first European road trip as a boss.
Rangers will return to eastern Europe next week for the second qualifying round against opposition from Croatia or Moldova.
Their participation against Osijek or Petrocub was never really in doubt but unless they sharpen up in the final third their involvement in the Europa League soon will be.
Still, it represents Progres at least after the humiliation of their early exit to a bunch of minnows from Luxembourg 12 months ago.
Gerrard will also point with some justification to a game being played at a stage in the season when his squad are still building to match fitness, not to mention additions have yet to be made to his group.
It was a professional performance – to a point – in a match that was otherwise utterly unforgettable as the Light Blues proved too strong in all departments for a club that can even be described as modest by Macedonian standards.
However, Rangers should really have put Shkupi out of their misery long before Allan McGregor made a stop a minute from time to deny winger Muarem Muarem a goal that might have set up a barnstorming finale.
That shot from 12 yards after he burrowed into the box from the left wing was their only chance of note in the second period. And in the first half, a string of four corners forced in quick succession 18 minutes in was as good as it got for the home side.
Rangers controlled possession for the vast majority of the match but wastefulness in front of goal, their failing in the first leg, and the failure to pick a decisive pass in key areas would have frustrated their boss.
He will at least be glad to have boarded the flight home last night with a win under his belt and also, privately, to escape the cloying attention of local fans.
One kid even demanded a selfie a second after the final whistle blew. He got his pic on the run but Rangers will also have to show quicker thinking in the weeks ahead if they are to go deeper into this competition.
The Ibrox side have surely played in more intimidating arenas in Europe and even the weather did them a favour as the heavens opened an hour before the tea-time kick-off.
The rain sliced a welcome opening in the muggy heat for cooler air to blow its way around the bowl of a national stadium in Skopje, which was barely a quarter full.
Even the pitch, which Gerrard feared would be problematic, was flat and covered in a thick carpet of grass, well attended by half a dozen groundstaff before the match started.
Understandably, in the absence of injured Scott Arfield and in the circumstances of the tie, Gerrard’s line-up was slightly more conservative than the first leg, with Ryan Jack and Ross McCrorie anchoring the midfield.
It still gave Josh Windass, Daniel
Candeias and Jamie Murphy the opportunity to spring forward in support of Alfredo Morelos but the opening exchanges from both sides were cat and mouse.
Windass had a shot deflected wide and Murphy was denied after a clever cross from Morelos before the midfielder narrowly failed to connect with a James Tavernier delivery.
Shkupi showed next to nothing in the first leg but a burst of activity unnerved Rangers as McGregor worked hard to deny the Macedonians the opener that would have given them reason to believe. He turned over a shot from Baze Ilijoski and seconds later dived to his left to deny Kristijan Stojkovski before beating away the follow-up from Muarem.
Rangers heeded the warning and for the remainder of the match took a greater grip of possession in the middle of the park as Jack and McCrorie began to recycle the ball with greater confidence and care.
But they lacked a cutting edge in the final third as key passes and crosses went astray at vital moments.
Windass did test keeper Suat Zendeli after a fine pass from Jack.
Morelos passed up a golden chance to end the tie on the stroke of halftime. He was picked out by a clever pass from Tavernier in the box but
wanted one touch too many rather than pulling the trigger immediately.
If anything became evident as the second half progressed it was that Shkupi had given all they had to offer in that opening period. The only danger to Rangers was likely to come from their own complacency.
But there was a work ethic and character clearly evident that suggested that would not be an issue.
However, that’s not to say they were pulling up trees. They were comfortable but struggled for imagination as they toiled to create the opportunities that would have put the tie out of sight.
Zendeli also pushed a free-kick from Tavernier to his left midway through the second half after Murphy had been upended on the fringes of the box.
Gerrard made a couple of changes, replacing Windass and Candeias with Glenn Middleton and Ovie Ejaria and the two subs almost combined to open the scoring in 72 minutes.
On-loan Liverpool midfielder Ejaria split the home defence with a pass down the inside-left channel for Middleton. But the former Norwich kid sliced his shot against the side net when he would have been better pulling it across the keeper’s body.
Morelos continued to work the channels diligently but was having a stinker – typified when he took a lazy swipe at a shot from the edge of the box that flew over when he had better options on either side.