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Rangers Are The Last Remaining British Team In The Uefa Cup.

Jockstar

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Jockstar Star Member

Jockstar

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Rangers to face Sporting in UEFA Cup quarters

Rangers have been drawn against Sporting Lisbon in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.

The Glasgow giants, the solitary British representatives in the last eight, will face the Portuguese club at Ibrox on April 3 before travelling for the return leg on April 10.

Should they win their tie against the side who knocked Premier League strugglers Bolton out of the competition this week, Rangers would take on either Fiorentina or PSV Eindhoven in the semi-finals.

The Light Blues' reward for knocking German side Werder Bremen out in the last 16 is to avoid the tournament favourites Bayern Munich, who they could not now face until the final.

Should they make it through to the last four, Rangers will have the chance to avenge one of the defeats suffered by Everton or Tottenham, who were knocked out on penalties by Fiorentina and PSV, respectively, on Wednesday.

Bayern have been drawn against Primera Liga representatives Getafe, with the winner of that tie facing the victor of Bayer Leverkusen v Zenit St Petersburg.

The semi-finals will take place on April 24 and May 1, with the final scheduled for May 14 at the City of Manchester stadium.

Rangers manager Walter Smith has been delighted with his team's progress in the competition and believes they could advance beyond the quarter-finals.

Speaking this lunchtime, just prior to the draw, Smith said: 'I don't know how far we can go. We can only continue to try to win it.

'There was a little bit of disappointment dropping down from the Champions League into the UEFA Cup.

'But once you get over the first-round game (in the knock-out stages) as we did with Panathinaikos you start to pick up again.'

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MSingh Platinum Member

MSingh

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0-0 is a good result in the Home Leg i think.

At least you know where you stand & if you score a Goal, Lison have to go hel_l for leather to score which leaves HUGE gaps & the possibilty of scoring a second.

If i was WS & AM'c, i'd be inclined to attack in Lisbon from the off & have the personnel & formation to do that.

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rgs2001uk Ruby Member

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I stayed up to watch the match,but i have to be honest,would you joks stay up and watch an english team,not on ye life.

Dont preach what you cant do yourself lads.

didnt even know the game was shown, what channel was that on?

dont know what youre haivering on about, but i watched english teams on wed and thurs morning before going to bed when most of the neighbours were going to work.

youre not an elt per chance are you?

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Jockstar Star Member

Jockstar

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Would have been good to get a win. But hey. No goals conceded and with our decent away form in Europe. I'm confident we will get through. Report below.

Rangers 0-0 Sporting LisbonScoring Summary

Rangers Sporting Lisbon

Match Stats

Rangers Sporting Lisbon

Shots (on Goal) 7(2) 13(4)

Fouls 9 15

Corner Kicks 10 5

Offsides 2 6

Time of Possession 48% 52%

Yellow Cards 2 3

Red Cards 0 0

Saves 6 5

Match Information

Stadium: Ibrox Stadium, Scotland

Attendance: 48,923

Match Time: 19:45 UK

Teams

Rangers Sporting Lisbon

1 Allan McGregor 1 Pedro dos Santos Rui Patricio

3 David Weir 13 Antonio Leonel Vilar Nogueira de Sousa Tonel

21 Kirk Broadfoot 78 Fernando Moreira Ferreira Abel

5 Sasa Papac 4 Correa Anderson Polga

24 Carlos Jimenez Cuellar 18 Leandro Damian Grimi

27 Lee McCulloch 7 Marat Izmailov

6 Barry Ferguson 10 Simon Vukcevic

7 Brahim Hemdani 28 Felipe Joao Moutinho

8 Kevin Thomson 30 Leandro Atilio Romagnoli

35 Steven Davis 24 Miguel Luis Pinto Veloso

19 Jean Claude Darcheville 31 Da Silva Muniz Liedson

Substitutes

13 Neil Alexander Ferreira Alexandre Baptista Tiago 16

30 Christian Dailly Pereira Della Valentina Gladstone 26

28 Steven Whittaker Pedro da Alves Silva 2

17 Chris Burke Pontus Farnerud 21

9 Kris Boyd Marques Alexandre Bruno Pereirinha 25

10 Nacho Novo Sebastian Perruchet Adrien Silva 6

38 Steven John Naismith Yanick Djalo 20

Substitutions

Nacho Novo for Jean Claude Darcheville (72) Marques Alexandre Bruno Pereirinha for Marat Izmailov (70)

Yanick Djalo for Simon Vukcevic (75)

Yellow Cards

Barry Ferguson (13) Marat Izmailov (20)

David Weir (88) Leandro Damian Grimi (55)

Da Silva Muniz Liedson (60)

· Club Squads: Rangers | Sporting Lisbon

Updated: April 3, 2008, 4:58 PM ET

Rangers' dreams of European glory this season took a knock when they drew 0-0 against Sporting Lisbon in their UEFA Cup quarter-final first-leg clash at Ibrox.

The Portuguese outfit proved to be as difficult to subdue as expected and the tie remains very much in the balance after both teams failed to find the back of the net in the first leg.

• Gers still confident of progress

Rangers now face the daunting task of travelling to Lisbon next week hoping to seal a meeting with Fiorentina or PSV Eindhoven in the semi-finals, as they attempt to maintain an impressive bid for four trophies this season.

Gers fans seeking lucky omens would have been thrilled to see Rangers paired with Sporting in the quarter-final draw.

The only other meeting between the two clubs came en route to the Glasgow giants' greatest achievement in Europe, lifting the European Cup Winners Cup in 1972.

Fans of statistics would also point out that Rangers had won all five previous encounters with Portuguese opposition at Ibrox ahead of tonight's game.

Sasa Papac and Brahim Hemdani both started, meaning Steven Whittaker and Christian Dailly were dropped to the bench. Old Firm hero Kevin Thomson also made the starting line-up after recovering from the shin injury sustained against Celtic.

There was concern for Sporting in the opening minutes when David Weir accidentally stamped on Liedson's Achilles and the Brazilian left the pitch on a stretcher - but the club's star man was back in action within two minutes.

Rangers were forced to defend deep early on but a pacy and powerful run from Jean-Claude Darcheville caused all sorts of problems before he eventually ran into a wall of green and white jerseys.

The ball broke to Lee McCulloch who failed to cause Rui Patricio much concern in the Sporting goal with a 50-yard strike.

Liedson - the club's top scorer in Europe this season with six goals - then had a go at the other end only to be denied by Papac who took no chances by hooking the ball to safety.

Barry Ferguson picked up the first booking of the game for an innocuous-looking challenge on fellow skipper Joao Moutinho. Like Liedson, he was also carried off only to make a quick recovery as howls of derision rang around the stadium.

Those jeers were replaced by cheers of encouragement when the man dubbed 'the Rocket' exploded down the right flank towards the Sporting goal. Darcheville cut into the six-yard box but found himself with no support in the goalmouth and his flick from the tightest of angles was deflected over by Rui Patricio.

Simon Vukcevic was fortunate to escape a booking for simulation after throwing himself to the ground just outside the box but team-mate Marat Izmailov was cautioned moments later for a foul on Ferguson. He would later be joined in the referee's book by team-mate Liedson.

Kirk Broadfoot then earned a free-kick for Rangers a few yards outside the area after being hacked down by Leandro Grimi. The set-piece was taken quickly by Ferguson, who slipped the ball through to Steven Davis - but his shot was blocked by Grimi.

With the half-time whistle beckoning, McCulloch had two good chances to hand Rangers the advantage, firstly forcing Patricio to dive low to his right to parry a 35-yard drive before seeing his header deflected inches past the post from a Davis ball into the box.

Davis screwed a shot wide from 25 yards at the start of the second half, before the visitors started to impose themselves on the game more.

Grimi collected from Liedson before being allowed to embark on a run of all of 70 yards before testing Allan McGregor in the Rangers goal. A miskicked effort then bobbled past the Rangers defence before shaving the goalkeeper's left-hand post.

Darcheville maintained his incredible record of never having completed a full match for Rangers when he was withdrawn after 71 minutes to make way for Nacho Novo.

Rangers pushed forward in search of a winner and Ferguson was not far away when he hooked over his shoulder and just wide, with Novo loitering just out of reach to knock home.

Leandro Romagnoli and Liedson came close in the dying minutes for Sporting - but the clash ended all square, leaving both teams with everything to play for in the second leg next Thursday, although the Gers will be without Weir for the second leg after he was booked late on.

Gers still confident of progress

Walter Smith has backed Rangers to fire themselves into the last four of the UEFA Cup, despite being held to a goalless draw by Sporting Lisbon at Ibrox tonight.

The quarter-final tie remains firmly in the balance, after a first leg which produced no goals and few chances.

Rangers face a daunting prospect in Lisbon, but Smith sees no reason why his players cannot produce the goods next Thursday.

His confidence is backed up by away goals in the Champions League against FK Zeta, Lyon and Stuttgart - as well as Panathinaikos in the UEFA Cup.

'The away game will be along similar lines to tonight's tie. I think it will be quite close,' he predicted.

'But we have shown that we can go away from home and score goals - and we would hope that we manage to do so next week.

'It wasn't just in Panathinaikos. We have also managed to get goals in Stuttgart and Lyon, and in Zeta in the early part of the qualifying games.'

Rangers have been rock solid defensively this season but must cope with the loss of David Weir for the second leg, after the veteran centre-half picked up a booking for a late foul on Liedson which rules him out of the trip to Lisbon.

Smith added: 'Obviously we are disappointed to lose Davie, but we have no complaints about the booking.

'We just have to face up to the fact that we lose him.'

The aspect of the game which did disappoint Smith was the lack of cutting edge in attack from Rangers tonight.

Lee McCulloch, Steven Davis and Barry Ferguson all had half-chances - but Rui Patricio was never really troubled in the Sporting goal.

'Overall, I don't think we can argue with the result,' said the Rangers boss.

'There weren't many clear-cut opportunities for either team.

'There was frustration, because I felt we didn't play as well tonight as we have done in the other European games.

'I'm a little bit disappointed we didn't test the goalie more. But I always felt it was going to be a tight game, and there were very few opportunities for either team.'

Sporting coach Paulo Bento believes both teams still have an equal chance of progressing to a last-four meeting with Fiorentina or PSV Eindhoven, who drew 1-1 in Italy tonight.

He said: 'Our objective is always to win the match. Rangers played well and were very strong defensively.

'In the next match at home we will have to play well for 90 minutes. It is still 50-50 for each team to go through.'

Sporting overcame Bolton 2-1 on aggregate in the last round, and Bento added: 'The game with Bolton was a different type of game - here they play more direct football.

'The result in the first game with Bolton was much better, but we have to be confident for the next game with Rangers.

'Technically and tactically we were better - and we just need to hold our emotions for the next game and not get carried away.'

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Jockstar Star Member

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with our decent away form in Europe. I'm confident we will get through

Get in there!!!! Can we dream?

Match report below.

Jean-Claude Darcheville fired Rangers another step closer to the UEFA Cup final by setting the ball rolling in a 2-0 win against Sporting Lisbon.

Substitute Steven Whittaker then added a second deep into injury time to provide the perfect end to a memorable clash.

• Smith savours Euro progress

The 2-0 aggregate win means Rangers will appear in the last four of the competition for the first time when they face Fiorentina, who defeated PSV Eindhoven.

Walter Smith's men have now played a staggering 16 games in Europe this season, as they remain in the hunt for four trophies, in what has been the veteran boss' best continental run since narrowly missing out on the Champions League final back in season 1992/93.

Rangers' only other meeting with Sporting in Lisbon proved to be one of the strangest nights in the club's history.

The two-legged affair ended 6-6 on aggregate but Rangers still managed to progress and eventually win the European Cup Winners' Cup despite losing a penalty shoot-out because the recently introduced away goals rule had slipped the Dutch referee's mind.

Thirty six years on, this night would have seemed no less dramatic for the 2,500 Rangers fans in the colourful Jose Alvalade Stadium who will now be wondering if the Portuguese capital will once again prove to be one of the stops on the way to European glory.

Christian Dailly partnered Carlos Cuellar in the heart of the Rangers defence in the absence of the almost ever-present David Weir, the veteran centre-half missing out through suspension after collecting a costly yellow card last week.

Darcheville was given the nod as the lone striker, with Daniel Cousin named among the substitutes after recovering from a broken jaw sustained in the last round against Werder Bremen.

Kirk Broadfoot, Brahim Hemdani and Steve Davis were also drafted into the side following Sunday's draw at Dundee United.

Rangers had the first chance of the match when Gladstone and Tonel failed to deal with a Hemdani ball into the box, which broke for Darcheville.

The striker tried to dink over goalkeeper Rui Patricio, as he raced off his line, but Gladstone managed to block the effort.

Barry Ferguson then tried to set up Darcheville for another crack at goal but this time Patricio was first to the ball.

Sporting's chances had been limited early on but they hit the woodwork when Leandro Romagnoli's free-kick found Liedson and his header smacked off the post.

The home side were sparked into life by the near miss and threatened Rangers again within a few minutes.

This time Romagnoli played a corner out to Miguel Veloso 35 yards from goal and he drilled narrowly past Allan McGregor's right-hand post.

With half-time beckoning, skipper Joao Moutinho saw his shot fizz across the goalmouth and wide of target with the opening 45 minutes destined to end goalless, like the first leg at Ibrox.

Kevin Thomson picked up the first booking of the game four minutes after the restart for a foul on Veloso, the yellow card ruling him out of Rangers' next match in Europe.

Veloso recovered enough to provide a tempting cross for Marat Izmailov, who bulleted a header across McGregor's goal and past the post as Sporting piled on the pressure.

Broadfoot then followed Thomson into referee Konrad Plautz's book before Rangers grabbed the opener with an hour gone.

Darcheville played the ball out to Davis out on the right before racing into the box and collecting the return pass. He then left Patricio with no chance by slotting home from eight yards to send the Gers fans behind the goal into raptures.

With 20 minutes remaining Darcheville - yet to play a full 90 minutes for Rangers - was withdrawn to make way for Cousin, knowing he had already played a crucial role in this tie.

Liedson could have restored parity for Sporting but hooked his shot high and wide, before Leandro Grimi nodded past the upright.

Ferguson then picked up a booking, meaning he also misses out on the first leg of the semis through suspension.

But nothing would be allowed to dampen the spirits of the Ibrox club tonight as substitute Whittaker - on for Lee McCulloch - provided the icing on the cake by rifling home deep into injury time following a solo run from his own half.

Smith savours Euro progress

Boss Walter Smith hailed Rangers for reaching their first European semi-final for 36 years after sending Sporting Lisbon crashing out of the UEFA Cup.

Goals from Jean-Claude Darcheville and Steven Whittaker in the Jose Alvalade Stadium saw Rangers safely through to the last four of the competition.

The last time the Ibrox side reached that stage of a European tournament they went on to lift the European Cup Winners' Cup back in 1972.

This time around Fiorentina are the team who stand between Rangers and a place in the UEFA Cup final in Manchester next month.

The Italians overcame PSV Eindhoven to seal their own progression and Smith will now seek a dossier from Everton boss David Moyes, whose side faced Fiorentina in the last round.

'At this stage we don't know a great deal about them but we will get a full run down,' said Smith.

'We had someone at the game tonight and Davie Moyes also knows a great deal about them.

'We are delighted to get to the semi-finals of a European competition for the first time in a long time, regardless of who the opposition is.'

Darcheville set the ball rolling when he grabbed the opener on the hour mark before a wonderful goal from substitute Whittaker sealed the 2-0 aggregate win in injury time.

Smith added: 'I thought we played very well, especially early on.

'We played very well from the start of the game and kept possession of the ball better than we have done in recent games.

'We are delighted to be through and we scored two good goals to get there. The goals were really good and were well worked.

'Whittaker running through like that was a surprising sight and it was also a good finish from Darcheville.'

The only sour point of an otherwise memorable night was the bookings picked up by Kevin Thomson and Barry Ferguson, which rule the midfield duo out of the next European match.

'I was a little bit disappointed to get the bookings,' said Smith.

'I felt they were probably deserved although on one or two occasions in the first half similar fouls by the opposition went without yellow cards.

'I was disappointed with that.'

Sporting coach Paulo Bento described the defeat as a cruel blow - but insists his team still have plenty to play for this season.

He said: 'We will analyse this game and correct what we did wrong.

'We will now focus on other objectives - to finish second in the championship and reach the final of the Portuguese cup.

'I feel sad as we all should. This was an objective we should have achieved.

'It was cruel what happened but we have to get over this and focus on the games coming up.'

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Thairab Explorer Member

Thairab

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^^ Correctemundo i saw a Bkk loyal flag at Ibrox but i think it was for show from somebody trying to be "cool" anyway i agree 100% as i used to work in tenerife and there were 3 Rangers bars there always a good turnout for the games so if you know of anything keep me posted cheers WATP btw C'mon on the 'gers beat the bin hokers tonite and we will be champions.

All we are singing is give us the 4!! :o

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