International
Rangers foiled by Russians
Zenit St Petersburg 2 Rangers 0
RANGERS' hopes of a first European
trophy in 36 years were
crushed as Zenit St Petersburg
claimed the UEFA Cup at the
City of Manchester Stadium last
night.
Walter Smith's men experienced
an epic journey, playing 18
European games to reach Manchester,
only to fall at the final
hurdle at the hands of the Russian
champions.
Goals from Igor Denisov and
Konstantin Zyrianov proved to
be the difference between the two
sides, with Dick Advocaat triumphing
over his former club
who had hoped to claim an historic
quadruple this season but
must now focus on completing a
domestic treble.
Smith said: Over the tournament
we've worked very hard to
get to the final - there was not
that much in it overall and we
had a few chances ourselves.
Zenit looked the more offensive
team but obviously at this
stage I'm disappointed to have
lost.
We've had a terrific tournament
- it doesn't take away the
disappointment but in the end I
can have no complaints.''
Despite the official allocation
being far less, around 30,000
Rangers fans managed to find
their way inside the ground, with
around 100,000 more in fan zones
around the city and a packed-out
beamback party taking place
back at Ibrox.
But the night ended in disappointment
for the Glasgow giants,
just as it had done for rivals
Celtic at this stage back in 2003.
After an even first half,
Rangers had a penalty shout dismissed
shortly after the restart,
Barry Ferguson claiming his
shot in front of goal was handled
by Denisov.
The breakthrough came after
72 minutes, Andrei Arshavin
playing a one-two with Denisov,
who raced into the box before
slotting home from eight yards,
leaving Neil Alexander with no
chance.
Zyrianov almost doubled the
advantage within a few minutes
but his shot struck the left post.
With time rapidly running out,
Jean-Claude Darcheville and
Nacho Novo both squandered
chances, before Zyrianov netted
to wrap up the win.
8:45am Thursday 15th May 2008
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