McGregor marks his special feat in fine style

IT was a j ourney t hat began in September 2006 with a clean sheet and goalless draw in the picturesque Norwegian fjord city of Molde. Fourteen years later, as Allan McGregor broke the European appearance record for Rangers last night, he played his part in ensuring his ninth — and perhaps final — continental adventure with the Ibrox club will continue beyond Christmas.

The goalkeeper made his 83rd European run-out in a 3-2 home win against Standard Liege, moving one ahead of Barry Ferguson.

Before kick- off, Steven Gerrard had praised his No 1, who is out of contract next summer, for being a fantastic role model.

‘He’s a super professional and very talented,’ said the Ibrox boss. ‘ He deserves this accolade and hopefully he can go on to get many more.’

However, Rangers legend Ally McCoist jokingly cast doubt over the validity of the record in the wake of Alfredo Morelos overtaking the former striker as the club’s top scorer in Europe.

‘I texted Allan in midweek and I said, as with Morelos, I didn’t think some of the European qualifiers should count, frankly,’ grinned the BT Sport pundit.

‘ I am, of course, j oking. It’s a wonderful achievement and nobody deserves it more than Allan. I couldn’t see wee Barry’s stat being beaten for a long time but they’re both great servants to Rangers and I’m delighted for Allan.’

Before l ast night, McGregor had stopped opponents scoring 37 times in his 82 European games.

In 2007, he kept a clean sheet against a Barcelona side boasting an attacking triumvirate of Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry.

But perhaps his finest hour was a wonderful performance against Werder Bremen on the road to the 2008 UEFA Cup final, only for the keeper to miss out against Zenit St Petersburg through injury.

How he would have loved to have kept another clean sheet last night but there was little McGregor could do when Maxime Lestienne put Standard Liege in front after just six minutes.

Left-back Borna Barisic looked suspect at the goal, while there were question marks over rightback and captain James Tavernier as Standard reclaimed the lead through Duje Cop just 46 seconds after Connor Goldson had levelled with a thumping header.

But Tavernier would make amends with a successful spot-kick on the cusp of half-time.

And, cometh the hour, cometh the man on his big night.

McGregor made a top- class save from Abdoul Tapsoba before Scott Arfield’s winner put Rangers’ place in the last 16 beyond doubt.