Rangers 0 Artmedia Bratislava 0: Rangers' hopes of becoming the first Scottish side to qualify for the second group stage of the Champions League suffered a setback last night, after they failed to finish off an effort-filled performance with a winning goal. This result, coupled with Porto's surprise win over Inter Milan, means Alex McLeish's side are under a lot of pressure as they head to Bratislava for their next group match on November 1st.
While Rangers' erratic Scottish Premier League form has left their manager scratching his head in disbelief, Artmedia's performances in Europe this season have swayed from the sublime to the ridiculous on a similar scale.
After their much-publicised 5-0 home victory over Celtic in late July, Vladimir Weiss's men struggled to score from open play for more than six hours of Champions League action.
That run ended in spectacular fashion last month when Artmedia recovered from a two-goal deficit to record a memorable 3-2 victory over Porto. The comeback left the Slovakians on equal points with Rangers heading into this match.
Rangers began with a purpose that suggested they were keen to finally make their mark on the Champions League after more than a decade of underachievement. Dado Prso forced Juraj Cobej into a smart stop after a bursting run from Peter Lovenkrands while Federico Nieto, making his first start for the home side, should have done much better when played through by his Croatian strike partner.
Cobej produced another point-blank save, this time from Hamed Namouchi, and then made his best stop of the opening period after 40 minutes, when he was at full length to parry a Sotiros Kyrgiakos header from six yards.
The goalkeeper performed more heroics early in the second half as he acrobatically saved a 25-yard half-volley from Olivier Bernard. But Rangers' play then suffered a lull as more often than not they ran short of ideas when within shooting range of the Artmedia goal.
Prso, whose seven goals this season have been a rare highlight in an otherwise disappointing campaign for McLeish, appeared out of sorts and was clearly perturbed at the lack of adequate service from midfield.
That anxiety was replicated in the Ibrox stands, and Artmedia were successful in playing out the match without Cobej being called into further serious action.
They will now fancy their chances of inflicting a hammer blow on Rangers' European hopes in Slovakia.
RANGERS: Waterreus; Ricksen, Rodriguez, Kyrgiakos (Andrews 58), Bernard, Namouchi (Burke 75), Ferguson, Hemdani, Lovenkrands, Nieto (Thompson 37), Prso. Subs not used: Klos, Pierre-Fanfan, Murray, McCormack. Booked: Bernard, Prso, Burke.
ARTMEDIA BRATISLAVA: Cobej; Petras, Debnar, Durica, Urbanek, Vascak (Obzera 68), Kozak, Borbely, Fodrek, Halenar (Tchur 73), Hartig (Stano 83). Subs not used: Kamenar, Mikulic, Konecny, Burak. Booked: Obzera, Borbely.
Referee: Arturo Dauden Ibanez (Spain).
