By David Herd
Rangers welcomed Swiss Super League runners-up FC Servette to Ibrox tonight in their first home competitive match of the season. In four previous Ibrox meetings with opposition from Switzerland, Rangers had never won by more than a single goal. In a night that started perfectly, a combination of the modern handball rule, an inspired goalkeeper, and a loss of energy in the later stages ended in another single goal win and the big Ibrox crowd going home frustrated.
As is now the norm in the football season, vital European competitive games arrive before teams have had the chance to get up and running after the summer break, and with so many new faces in the Rangers squad, this was a match that had “banana skin” written all over it.
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Confidence amongst the Rangers support after a summer of significant spending in the attacking areas of the team was high before the season started, but a dismal defeat at Kilmarnock on Saturday brought many crashing back to Earth. This was a game that a week ago would have been viewed as straightforward, it was now being approached by many in the 48956 crowd with trepidation.
The first question on most lips was the starting eleven, very few had agreed with Michael Beale’s line-up at the weekend when it was announced, and after having those fears justified in a toothless display, most were hoping to see starts for the creative skills of Todd Cantwell and the striking menace of Danilo. When the team lines were announced, the answers were positive. John Lundstram had been replaced by Ryan Jack, and Kieran Dowell by Cantwell. And it looked a far more attacking side with Sima benched to allow a strike pairing of Dessers alongside Danilo. At least that’s how it looked on paper.
The Lithuanian referee got things started in front of a nearly-full Ibrox, and it became apparent straight away that Rangers were intent on playing at a higher tempo and with far more intent than the weekend. The midfield looked to be set up with Jack at the base of a diamond, Raskin and Cantwell either side, and Lammers at the tip supporting the strike pair. Within a minute, the returning Todd Cantwell had a shot blocked after a series of quick passes, then in the fourth minute came the most famous expression in Scottish football. Penalty to Rangers!
Lammers played the ball along the goal line, defender Douline looked favourite to clear, but the alert Cantwell nipped in front of him and was brought down. Skipper Tavernier made no mistake, and the Ibrox crowd had the start they craved. Cantwell seemed to be at the centre of everything in the opening stages, winning tackles and spraying passes, this was a very different Rangers to the one who deserved the criticism they got on Saturday.
The first yellow card arrived in twelve minutes when the unfortunate Douline’s night got worse after he pulled back the impressive Lammers as he broke forward. Two minutes later, Ibrox was rocking as Rangers doubled their lead. It all started with a surging run from defence by John Souttar, who strode into enemy territory before sliding the ball wide to Borna Barisic. His low centre eluded the Swiss defence, and there was Dessers at the back post to apply the finishing touch for his first Rangers goal.
Rangers looked in the mood, with Raskin next to try his luck, a twenty yard shot whistling just wide. The Dessers and Danilo partnership was starting to show glimpses of promise, with some neat interplay without really troubling Joel Mall in the away goal. After 40 minutes, Jack Butland had only routine saves to make, but the first half was to end with a mystery VAR intervention that changed Michael Beale’s half-time team talk. Nobody inside the stadium had any idea why play was stopped and the referee went to the monitor, a Dessers handball from a free kick into the Rangers penalty box had been spotted by the men in the TV room, and the referee pointed to the spot to the incredulity of the crowd. Chris Bedia ignored the distractions from the Copland stand, and confidently sent Butland the wrong way to halve the deficit.
A 2-1 lead at the interval seemed something of an injustice to Rangers, who had been the better team by some distance, they now had to show the character expected of those who wear the shirt and to go again in the second period. Sadly, despite their best efforts the second half would be one of frustration.
One of the main reasons for this was Servette goalkeeper Joel Mall, who produced a stunning save in the 53rd minute to keep out a Lammers effort. Five minutes later, Rangers got the ideal opportunity to add to their slender lead when Douline’s night went from bad to worse when he was shown a second yellow card after a late tackle on Cantwell. More than half an hour with a man advantage surely would see Rangers make the trip to Geneva next week a comfortable one.
It didn’t turn out that way, with Mall adding to his list of impressive saves, and Rangers starting to run out of ideas as Michael Beale made five substitutions to try to keep the energy levels high. Recent signing Jose Cifuentes was given a debut along with introductions for Sima, Dowell, Hagi and Wright, but Rangers seemed to be looking for the perfect intricate pass on too many occasions, with the Swiss defence holding firm. Too many passes started going astray, and too many hopeful crosses were easily mopped up. Even Man of the Match Cantwell grew less effective, as the clock ticked into six added minutes and a goal looked less and less likely.
Injury time ended up as even longer thanks to a nasty looking clash of heads between Sima and defender Rouiller, and during the additional time the ball was in the Rangers area as much as the Servette one. When the referee ended the contest, there was applause from those remaining in the stands, as they had seen a performance with some promise for future improvement, with the forward play light years better than the season opener.
In the post-match press conference, Cyriel Dessers spoke of his pleasure at scoring his first Rangers goal, and was bullish about both the performance and the chances of progression. He praised Servette as tricky opponents who deserved respect after their excellent result against Genk, but was confident that Rangers could get through in Geneva with another week for the new-look team to gel together. He had praise for his teammates, with his fledgling partnership with Danilo one that excites him. He also was philosophical about the crucial penalty decision that went against him after VAR intervention, frustrated that the decision seemed to contradict the handball guidance the players had received just last week from the SFA referees representatives. It has to be said, that most observers who have seen the TV pictures think the award was correct, even if extremely unlucky.
His frustration was shared by us all. Another nervy night looks to be awaiting us next Tuesday.
