RYAN’S BRAGA THROUGH THE HEART
Gers are rock solid as Kent blasts them into last 16
A STADIUM carved out the side of a mountain inspired a glorious Rangers display that was hewn from granite.
More than 5000 Ibrox fans trooped up a steep hill in northern Portugal then watched their team scale new heights as they qualified for the last 16 of the Europa League.
They were Premiership lightweights four days previously at St Johnstone, their defence as porous as chalkstone, but this time Rangers’ players proved to be the boulder boys of Braga.
This was a stunning victory, chiselled from a performance of outstanding maturity, and adds to evidence that suggests whatever their shortcomings in the Premiership, Steven Gerrard’s squad have found a home from home in Europe.
The last time Ryan Kent celebrated a goal for his team, at Parkhead on December 29, it cost his club a 10 grand fine from the SFA.
This time, his second-half strike will earn his club the thick end of at least £3million and provide a further shot in the arm for the country’s UEFA coefficient.
Goodness, Rangers could even afford to miss a penalty with virtually the last kick of the first half when Ianis Hagi, the hero of the first-leg revival, became the latest in a line of Light Blues stars to miss from 12 yards.
But Hagi made amends with a stunning pass over the top of the high-line Portuguese defence for Kent to run on and slide his first European goal behind spot-kick hero Matheus.
To a man, their exploits last night were heroic, from keeper Allan McGregor to solo striker Flo Kamberi who ran himself into the ground on his first European start.
But Rangers shone in the centre of defence as Connor Goldson, slated against Saints, became a towering influence once again.
George Edmundson, a novice at this level, wasn’t far behind him as he stepped in for Niko Katic and put in a performance that belied his 21 years.
Rangers didn’t give up a grip in the centre of the park either and that was down to the efforts of Ryan Jack, Steven Davis and Scott Arfield, who bossed the midfield with authority and aggression.
No Scottish club has won both legs of a knockout Euro tie since 2002 when Celtic beat Blackburn home and away en route to Seville and on this form you wouldn’t bet against Gers following their lead towards Gdansk in May.
You wondered if they would live to regret their wastefulness in front of goal when they squandered two magnificent chances to open the scoring in the first 20 minutes.
Kent slipped in Arfield and although his pass to Kamberi was undercooked, the Swissborn frontman should still have buried it, rather than forcing the bundled stop from Matheus.
Hagi also did brilliantly to rob Raul Silva deep on the right wing and he then skipped over a lunge by David Carmo before pulling a pass back for Kent.
The attacker only had to hit the target but drew his rightfoot shot wide from 12 yards as his Romanian team-mate kicked a post in frustration.
McGregor remained relatively untroubled in the first half, although he had to throw himself into the air to push over a header from Paulinho.
But that save was surpassed by Matheus in first-half injury time when he dived to his right to beat away Hagi’s well-struck penalty after Kent’s corner had hit the arm of Silva.
Rangers didn’t panic and Kent’s stunning strike on 61 minutes, after Goldson had broken up a Braga attack and laid the ball off for Jack to link with Hagi, was just reward for their tactical discipline. Paulinho may have crashed a header against the base of a post on 70 minutes from a cross by sub Joao Novais but it was a rare moment of discomfort for a defence that grew in confidence with every minute.
Indeed, Rangers thought they had a second on 76 minutes when Arfield turned the ball into the net when Matheus had pushed a Goldson header from a corner on to the inside of his post. But the Swedish officials didn’t need VAR to know the midfielder had strayed offside.
As the game progressed and Braga committed more men forward they still couldn’t lay a glove on their rivals.
Rangers were also so well served defensively by James Tavernier and Borna Barisic, who had to curb their attacking instincts against the wide overloads of the Portuguese. In fact, it was sub Sheyi Ojo who came closest to netting as the game came edged towards its end, using his pace to run at the home defence before letting rip with a low shot pushed around the post by Matheus. It would have been some moment for the Liverpool kid but by then the job was all but done. Gers may have fallen into the domestic title abyss in Perth but they haven’t half created a Europa League cliffhanger for the weeks – and maybe even months – to come.