Rangers recovered from a slow start to snatch a 1-1 draw against Stuttgart in their Champions League opener.
Smith's side battle to well-earned point
Rangers recovered from a slow start to snatch a 1-1 draw against Stuttgart in their UEFA Champions League opener.
Pavel Pogrebnyak opened the scoring for the hosts early on, as the Gers toiled, but a fine individual effort from Madjid Bougherra hauled the SPL champions level.
Stuttgart made their intentions clear from the off and took control of the game from the opening whistle.
Allan McGregor was called into action inside 60 seconds and it became only a matter of time before he was beaten.
The breakthrough duly arrived after 18 minutes when the lively Cacau broke clear and squared for Pogrebnyak to drill home.
Rangers did come into the game slightly as the half wore on, but entered the interval grateful to be only trailing by one.
Walter Smith's side started the second period much brighter and could have levelled inside the opening five minutes as Sasa Papa diverted a header wide of the post.
Their endeavours were rewarded, though, after 77 minutes as Bougherra drifted forward from the back and slammed an unstoppable half-volley past Jens Lehmann.
Blow
Rangers were dealt a blow before a ball had even been kicked with the news that skipper David Weir had failed to recover from an ankle knock he picked up in the goalless draw against Motherwell at the weekend.
That meant Lee McCulloch filled the void at centre-half, with Kevin Thomson drafted into the midfield, despite just 14 minutes of action since suffering a serious knee injury last November.
There was also another start for Jerome Rothen after the on-loan Paris St Germain winger made his debut on Saturday following his transfer deadline day switch to the Scottish champions.
Stuttgart received a boost when Alexander Hleb made the starting line-up after being rated doubtful with a muscle strain.
The absence of Weir proved to be a problem for Rangers right from the outset, with Stuttgart immediately piling the pressure on their visitors.
With less than a minute on the clock Cacau ran onto a cross from the right and drew a decent save from goalkeeper McGregor, before Thomas Hitzlsperger hooked the rebound over the crossbar.
The home side were threatening again in the opening stages when Cacau released Pogrebnyak into the box and he teed up the shot for Hleb but he was denied from close range by McGregor at the near post.
Provider
Hleb then turned provider with an inswinging corner into the box which broke to Cacau but his shot was diverted wide by the foot of McGregor.
However, the Rangers goalkeeper was picking the ball out of the back of the net after 18 minutes when Cacau's cut-back found Pogrebnyak, who dispatched a powerful right foot shot past McGregor.
Stuttgart almost found the back of the net again when Cacau rifled into the side netting and provided another reminder of the threat posed by the home side.
Rangers' forays forward were few and far between but Steven Davis managed to release Kenny Miller through on goal but goalkeeper Lehmann was first to the ball to smother before the striker could unleash the shot.
Then, with seconds to go until the half-time whistle, Pogrebnyak rattled the crossbar.
His effort was offside anyway but Smith's men were no doubt breathing a sigh of relief not to be trailing by more as they headed into the interval.
Rangers appeared more composed when they emerged for the second half and could have restored parity within a couple of minutes of the restart.
Flashed
Rothen picked out Papac in front of goal and the left-back did well to hold off Matthieu Delpierre only to see his header flash across the face of goal and wide of the upright.
At the other end, a Pogrebnyak ball found Roberto Hilbert out on the right but his shot rippled the side netting, with McGregor untroubled on this occasion.
It was Lehmann's turn to be called into action when Miller tried his luck with a long-range effort that the Stuttgart goalkeeper managed to block at the near post.
With 20 minutes to go, Papac picked up the first booking of the match after catching Christian Trasch on the face with his boot but the Stuttgart full-back was quickly able to return to the action after receiving treatment.
With a single goal still separating the two sides, Rangers could have hauled themselves level when McCulloch nodded on a corner to Naismith but his close-range header fell wide of target.
The honours went to Bougherra instead when he snatched the leveller after 77 minutes. The defender worked a one-two with Rothen before driving past the out-stretched hands of Lehmann.
Rangers could even have snatched a last-gasp victory when they hit the woodwork in the final minute of the game when a Davis shot struck the post.
| VfB Stuttgart |
Team Statistics |
Rangers |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 9 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 6 |
Corners |
3 |
| 8 |
Fouls |
14 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
6 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 85.4 |
Passing Success |
83.7 |
| 12 |
Tackles |
14 |
| 91.7 |
Tackles Success |
57.1 |
| 52.7 |
Possession |
47.3 |
| 56.4 |
Territorial Advantage |
43.6 |
|
