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{ Heads up: Steven Whittaker put Rangers ahead only for Sporting Lisbon to score a late equaliser Photo: ACTION IMAGES

Just as he did in 2008 – when he scored in a 2-0 victory in the Portuguese capital - Steven Whittaker put Rangers into a position to progress in Europe with a goal that lanced through the frustration enveloping Ibrox in this below-par first-leg instalment of their Europa League tie against Sporting Lisbon. Whittaker’s breakthough came midway through the second half after El-Hadji Diouf, with his most electrifying contribution since arriving during the January transfer window, forced the Portuguese side to defend at full stretch at the cost of a corner kick.

The delivery from Vladimir Weiss was precise, the header by Whittaker venomous. However, that good work was undone by late carelessness when Matlas Fernandez, who had come in for the final quarter hour, beat Allan McGregor with a fine unopposed header to level the proceedings. Should Rangers prove capable of proceeding to a last-16 stage tie against either PSV Eindhoven or Lille, they might well find that their resources are too thin to sustain further ambition, especially because Diouf, Weiss and Kyle Lafferty all picked up entirely needless cautions.

Sporting were forced to mix and match, too, with Jaime Valdes and Leandro Grimi absent through injury for the Portuguese visitors, although Yannick Djalo had recovered from the thigh problem that had kept him inactive since Jan 3. Djalo was to cause Rangers difficulties and one cutback from the forward who had come through the Sporting youth ranks was particularly dangerous, rolling right across the unguarded goalmouth without a taker, when a tap-in would have opened the scoring.

Rangers’ problems, though, were principally of their own making thanks to carelessness in possession which was, at times, extreme.

The steadying presence of Lee McCulloch was badly missed in the holding role – at one stage even the normally cool Steven Davis was ambushed on the edge of his own penalty area and had to be rescued by David Weir – while Lafferty repeatedly failed to hold the ball long enough to allow reinforcements to arrive from midfield.

The Northern Irish forward did, though, have two opportunities to put Rangers in front, first when he met a Whittaker cross with a bulleted header that flew narrowly over the crossbar and then with a less positive effort after Vladimir Weiss had put him in with a hanging ball from the left.

The crowd, not for the first time, expressed irritation with Lafferty’s waywardness and Diouf, too, felt their ire when he chose to wait for a Bougherra pass to arrive in his vicinity and allowed Sporting to intercept. When Rangers appeared for the restart a good three minutes before the Portuguese side it could be assumed that Smith’s half-time address had consisted of words few and brief.

The impression was confirmed by the racing tempo displayed by Rangers, who forced a corner kick – their first of the evening – within 15 seconds and added another three within five minutes. Again, however, Lafferty’s contribution, while energetic, reminded the home supporters how much they missed the presence of the ineligible Nikica Jelavic.

Weiss attempted to remedy the defect with a lancing run straight through the heart of the Sporting defence, only to be hauled cynically off the ball by Daniel Campofor a free-kick that came to nothing.

The rest of the contest unfolded in a fashion familiar to denizens of Ibrox on European nights during Smith’s tenure. Sporting threw on substitutes and began to claim increasing swathes of territory while Rangers stepped back to absorb the heightened pressure, comfortably enough, it seemed, until the Fernandez intervention.

Match details

Rangers (4-4-1-1): McGregor; Foster, Bougherra, Weir, Papac; Whittaker, Edu, Davis, Weiss; Diouf; Lafferty.
Subs: Alexander (g), Fleck, Naismith, Healy, Bartley, Ness, Hutton.
Booked: Bougherra, Diouf, Weiss, Lafferty.
Sporting Lisbon (4-1-2-1-2): Rui Patricio; Pereira, Carrico, Polga, Evaldo; Mendes; Maniche (Fernandez 77), Zapater; Cristiano (Salerio 74); Postiga (Solomao 85), Djalo.
Subs: Tiago (g), Santos, Coelho, Vukcevic.
Booked: Djaio, Carrico.
Referee: M Grafe (Germany).

Agences de presses

Labels: Lisbon, Match, Rangers, Report, Sporting, Telegraphcouk