SHARPEN UP FOR SECOND EURO CLASH
REVOLUTION IS UP AND RUNNING STEVIE’S WORLD OF DIFFERENCE
couple by the break, Alfredo Morelos missing two headers, Arfield taking a fresh-air swipe and Goldson nodding meekly into the side-netting.
Rangers started the second half sluggishly, allowing their opponents lengthy spells of possession – much to the annoyance of a full house.
Shkupi won three quickfire corners and began to believe, with Gerrard responding by removing Candeias for Ryan Jack in the 55th minute.
But as the hour mark passed the visitors would’ve been delighted with the way they’d stemmed the blue tide.
They were breached in the 63rd minute though – and Rangers should have had the cushion they craved. Tavernier’s cross for Windass was perfect but his header from eight yards was anything but, flying over.
Windass’s night didn’t get any better when inches away from getting a toe on Jack’s cross a minute later.
Bright spark Arfield was replaced by Ovie Ejaria who immediately looked comfortable on the ball.
But Rangers were looking for inspiration to make the whole night a bit more comfortable.
Windass was hooked with 11 minutes left, initially to ironic cheers that were quickly replaced by warm applause. Glenn Middleton got a big ovation and didn’t take long to enhance his growing reputation as the stocky winger carried the game to Shkupi, posing previously unasked questions of their retreating defence.
Morelos claimed for a penalty with three minutes to go but whistler Christian Dingert wasn’t interested. It summed up the Colombian’s night.
However, the spot-kick came when Murphy was caught late by Broja and although there was a fair amount of pressure on Tavernier, the skipper didn’t waver. He sent the keeper the wrong way and kept Rangers heading the right one. FROM BACK PAGE first-leg performance which needed a last-minute James Tavernier penalty to make the away trip a little less nervy after Jamie Murphy’s first-half opener.
That gave the team a pass mark in Gerrard’s book but he’s adamant there remains work to be done in the Macedonian capital on Tuesday night.
The Ibrox boss said: “We are satisfied with the result and parts of the performance. But I don’t think it’s any better than satisfactory.
“There is still a lot of work to do and we are still in a game. We have to make sure we perform when we go out there. But for the first competitive game we have kept a clean sheet and won.
“We should have won it more comfortably if we were a bit sharper in front of goal. We take 2-0 but I’m slightly disappointed we didn’t win it more comfortably.
“We have sort of put ourselves in this position for work still to be done. There were chances out there to put the tie to bed – three, four or five.
“We should have had the game done by the time we got the second goal with the chances we created.
“They were very good chances. Yeah maybe if you’re being overcritical you probably say we have to sharpen up in front of goal and maybe we will have to blame ourselves for not putting the complete tie to bed.”
Colombian striker Morelos missed a couple of good opportunities and looked shorn of confidence after his goal in last Friday’s 6-0 win over Bury.
But the Scouser is convinced the attacker will come good for him.
Gerrard said: “He scored last week here and is scoring in training so I’ve
got no worries about him. Strikers sometimes need three or four games to really feel sharp and feel themselves and I have no doubt goals will come. He is a proven goalscorer so it is not a concern.”
Shkupi left Glasgow believing the tie is retrievable and fuming over the award of the spot-kick by German whistler Christian Dingert for a foul on Murphy.
Keeper and captain Suat Zendeli said: “If there was VAR in this game they’d have had to have a look at it.
“I wasn’t sure but I think the decision would have been play on and it would not have been a penalty.
“No disrespect to the referee but I don’t think he should make such a crucial decision when the penalty wasn’t clear.
“He should have taken a couple of seconds to make the decision.
“He is German and they are quite precise – but human beings make mistakes.
“We are a professional team and we look forward to seeing Rangers in our stadium. They’ll hopefully have the same experience we had here.
“Our fans will be waiting and there will be a big turnout as well, so we have to think the best for ourselves and hopefully we will get the result we need.” SEE PAGES 64&65