By Alistair Aird
Russell Martin wasn’t the people’s choice. His appointment as Head Coach was underwhelming to say the least. And having a fixture of this importance inked in as his first meaningful match in charge did little to allay any concerns among the Rangers supporters that the new owners had made an error of judgement.
But since he came into the building, eyebrows have been raised. Martin has spoken well when outlining his vision for the future and seems to have his squad well-drilled and disciplined. Fracturing of his rules and principles has been duly punished according to Martin. That sets standards that have been conspicuous by their absence in recent years. A box most definitely ticked.
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Recruitment has seen more in than out too, although one would expect to see several departures to cut adrift some of the deadwood before the window slams shut. And although there has been an infusion of fresh blood in the past – who can forget the fabled Michael Beale ‘rebuild’ in 2023 – this one feels different.
Except for 30-year-old Joe Rothwell, the emphasis has clearly been on bringing in young, hungry talent that have carved out a decent reputation in the nascent days of their careers. And when you listen to supporters of Luton Town, Peterborough and Sheffield Wednesday, they are bitterly disappointed to have lost the likes of Thelo Aasgaard, Emmanuel Fernandez, and Djeidi Gassama. And although he is only 22, Nasser Djiga has already played Champions League group stage football, turning out 14 times for Red Star Belgrade over the last two seasons. Meanwhile, the rationale for Rothwell, who has Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Southampton and Leeds United on his CV, appears to be a calm, experienced head to anchor the midfield.
Only one of the ‘newbies’ – Aasgaard, injured against Dunfermline Athletic – wasn’t included in the matchday squad. There were starts for Max Aarons – at left back rather than in what we were led to believe to be his more natural position on the right of the back four – Djiga and Rothwell with the others including Lyall Cameron on the bench.
There were places among the replacements for Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane too. Injuries and red tape have curtailed their preparations of the season, and both have been linked with moves away. Dessers was supposedly attracting interest from AEK Athens, while Igamane has potential suitors in France and Holland. If either were to depart then one would suspect a number nine would be at the top of the Martin shopping list. As fine a pre-season as Danilo has had – four goals and three assists thus far – his track record with injury hasn’t been the best and although recruitment has been positive, the lack of options at the sharp end remains a concern.
Panathinaikos are no strangers when it comes to Rangers’ European history. They won 3-1 at Ibrox in the group stages of the Champions League in 2003 and drew 0-0 in the UEFA Cup in season 2007/08. On both occasions, the away leg in Athens ended 1-1. The Brazilian midfielder Emerson scored for Rangers in 2003 while Nacho Novo’s late goal in 2008 set the Light Blues on the road to Manchester.
The Greek side finished as runners-up in the Super League, 16 points adrift of champions Olympiacos. And they have had a mixed bag of results pre-season, winning two, drawing one and losing two of their five friendly matches. That being said, they chose to ready themselves for this tie with jousts against high-quality opposition. The victories came against KVC Westerlo (3-1) and Metalist 1925 (3-0), the draw was against FC Schalke 04 (0-0) while they lost to SC Braga (1-2) and FC Nordsjaelland.
Make no mistake about it, this would be a stern test. Would Martin marvel or would the capacity crowd witness a Greek tragedy?
Rangers, led by James Tavernier who celebrated 10 years with the club this week, wore their traditional home colours, blue jerseys, white shorts and black socks topped off with red. For Panathinaikos, it was their alternative kit of white shirts, dark green shorts and white socks.
When the Greeks huddled together before kick off, they were roundly booed. The atmosphere was building to a crescendo, this felt like it could be a special night in Govan.
Nico Raskin almost got Rangers off to the perfect start when he surged forward after two minutes. But his attempt at goal from the edge of the box didn’t have sufficient curl to find the far corner.
There was a real intensity and purpose about Rangers’ early play. The energy that was part of Martin’s coaching mantra was apparent. With Raskin and Diomande seemingly given licence to roam while Rothwell sat deeper, the midfield formation looked to be fluid. The initial signs were very promising indeed.
But it could all have gone pear shaped after eight minutes. Raskin was harshly booked for a foul, and from the resulting free kick, the ball broke to Duricic inside the six-yard box. But Butland was big and brave, parrying the shot. Pellistri pounced on the rebound, but his shot struck the post.
That period of play seemed to shake Rangers out of their rhythm. There were nerves on the pitch and in the stands as the Greeks started to impose themselves. Passing from the home side was loose and careless too often, amply illustrated when a short pass saw Aarons robbed of the ball on the halfway line. This triggered another forward foray which thankfully came to nothing.
Danilo was isolated. At the midway point of the first half, he had only touched the ball five times. And just one of those had been in the locale of the opposition penalty area. Kieran Dowell had featured infrequently too, with only seven touches of the football. With numbers like that posted by two of the attacking trio for Rangers, you could see why the Light Blues were struggling to make inroads after that promising start.
After 27 minutes, John Souttar was the second Rangers player to have his name taken. It was a case of taking one for the team when he stepped in to halt a counter attack by hauling down Pellistri. But that did little to stem the tide and on the half hour mark, Panathinaikos forced a couple of corners, the first of which was swung into the six-yard box and required the intervention of Souttar as Butland elected to stay on his line.
Rangers needed something at this point, a flash of brilliance, an injection of inspiration. And they almost got it after 37 minutes. Danilo did well on the edge of the box to hold the ball up and when he teed up Diomande, his carefully placed shot was pawed wide by Dragowski. In the flurry that followed, Danilo’s volley was deflected wide for another corner. After what had gone before, this was much more encouraging.
And before we knew it, almost in the blink of an eye, half time was upon us. There had been flashes of encouragement for the home supporters, but the rough and ragged spell had lasted a little too long even allowing for the early days of the new era. After the first Butand save, Rangers seemed spooked and with neither Curtis nor Dowell offering much in the wide areas, you felt it wouldn’t be long until changes were made. Martin admitted that neither Gassama, Dessers or Igamane had 90 minutes in the tank, but you had to think they would have between 20 and 30 at least.
The same XI that lined up for the first half did so for the second 45, though. But the poor passing that had prevailed for much of the first half did so again, with Souttar and Tavernier needlessly surrendering possession. And the home side were indebted to their goalkeeper too, Butland producing another fine reaction save to thwart Maksimovic.
Butland was dropped by Barry Ferguson last season after one too many errors, but his three saves in this match were much more like the version of Butland the supporters had fallen in love with when he signed in 2023. But having found a little redemption, Butland almost undid all his good work when he was a touch fortunate that no one was on hand to profit after he pushed a shot back into the centre of the penalty area.
But that all paled into insignificance when Rangers broke the deadlock. And what a moment it was for Findlay Curtis. The youngster netted a late equaliser against Club Brugge with a calm and composed finish, but this one was even better. Curtis made his way forward and sent an unstoppable shot into the net. It was a ‘coming of age’ moment for a lad who has earned the right to challenge for a starting spot in Martin’s team.
Now that Rangers had the lead, it was time to protect it and perhaps extend it. And the quest for the latter was certainly helped after 57 minutes when Panathinaikos were reduced to 10 men. Giorgos Vagiannidis tugged back Curtis in the heart of the pitch and having been cautioned in the first half, he left the Lithuanian referee with little option but to brandish a red card.
After 66 minutes, it should have been 2-0.
Since the red card, Panathinaikos had pressed forward, and Rangers had had to call upon the steady Souttar to make some timely interventions to stop the Greeks equalising. But at the other end, twice inside 30 seconds, Raskin was denied by Dragowski. The bustling Belgian fired in a shot with his right foot that was pushed away and then had an effort with his left foot parried.
Having played second fiddle for most of the first half, Martin’s Rangers had been finely tuned and were starting to hit the high notes. And the triple change the Head Coach made after 74 minutes ensured that the night would finish with a sweet symphony too.
On came Dessers and Igamane, and they were joined by Gassama. Dowell, Danilo and goalscorer Curtis were the ones to make way. We had been told that ‘Gass’ would provide a spark to ignite our attack, and he needed only four minutes to prove that.
Aarons did superbly to win the ball on the right. He fed it to Igamane and his pass found a surging Diomande. He laid the ball into the pass of Gassama who did the rest rather sublimely, progressing to the edge of the box before unleashing a shot into the net. As impacts and introductions go, this one was immediate.
Already there is that ripple of excitement when Gassama receives the ball. He will delight the crowd undoubtedly and have the supporters perched on the edge of their seats. And he almost carved out a third goal after 85 minutes when he jinked his way into the box, but his low cross was cut out for a corner.
There would be six minutes of additional time. Therein, Diomande fired high over the bar when he should probably have hit the target. Other than that, the game petered out with Rangers in control.
Rusell Martin couldn’t have asked for a better start to his tenure. Questions were asked and answered. He could have changed personnel at half time but resisted the temptation. He put his faith in his players to bounce back from a sticky first half. And he was rewarded with a fine goal from Findlay Curtis, one of the players he could conceivably have withdrawn at the interval. And when he did make changes, there was an instantaneous impact from the gifted Gassama.
There will be the usual rhetoric of the tie not being over and it ‘only being half time’. That is very true, but to go to Athens with a clean sheet and a two-goal advantage puts Rangers in a very strong position to progress to face either Plzen or Servette. That tie is delicately poised at 1-0 in the favour of the Swiss.
I wonder how many of those that doubted the wisdom of Martin’s appointment thought that would be the case. I’ll be honest, I was probably one of them. But step one has been a positive one, very much in the right direction. There is still work to be done – some trimming, tweaking and tailoring – but that can be done from the solid foundations that this result should provide.
Martin richly deserves the plaudits that should come his way. And he should take them wearing a smile of satisfaction too. He has passed his first test. The colours may not have been of the flying variety – that ropey spell in the first half accounts for that – but they don’t need to be. He just needs to pass. At this stage, that is all that really matters.