PSV Eindhoven 0 Rangers 0:SECOND-CHOICE goalkeeper Neil Alexander shut out PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands last night to hand Rangers a fighting chance of progressing to the last eight of the Europa League.
The Scottish champions sprang a surprise by naming Alexander in goal, with first choice goalkeeper Allan McGregor on the bench, and boss Walter Smith no doubt mindful of the League Cup final looming this month.
And the move paid off as Rangers claimed a goalless draw that will give them hope of finishing the job in front of their own fans when the Dutch travel to Ibrox for next week’s second leg.
El-Hadji Diouf again took on the lone striker role he performed in the last round against Sporting Lisbon and Rangers were also boosted by the return of Kyle Lafferty after he recovered from tonsillitis.
Young midfielder Kyle Hutton, who signed a new deal with the Scottish champions on Wednesday, was also handed a starting place for the clash, having already featured in the Champions League this season against Manchester United and Bursaspor.
There was drama for Rangers before a ball was even kicked with the news assistant manager Ally McCoist had been handed a two-match touchline ban following his altercation with Celtic boss Neil Lennon after last week’s Old Firm derby.
Once the game was under way, PSV were out of the traps quickly and Marcus Berg went to ground in the box under pressure from Madjid Bougherra but there appeared to be little in the incident and there was no penalty award.
Berg could have grabbed the opener when he tried to run onto a slick pass from Ola Toivonen but Alexander raced off his line to make a brave block before Berg could connect and slot home.
The home side had the best of the chances but Smith’s men were able to see out the remainder of the game and return to Glasgow with a clean-sheet ahead of the second leg.
PSV EINDHOVEN: Isaksson; Marcelo, Pieters, Bouma, Engelaar, Hutchinson, Dzsudzsak, Manolev, Berg (Koevermans 70), Toivonen (Bakkal 84), Lens. Subs not used: Cassio, Rodriguez, Vukovic, Wuytens, Koevermans, Bakkal, Zeefuik.
RANGERS: Alexander; Weir, Foster, Whittaker, Bartley, Bougherra, Edu, Davis, Lafferty (Wylde 80), Diouf (Weiss 64), Hutton. Booked: Lafferty. Subs not used: McGregor, Wylde, Cole, Weiss, Hemmings, Fleck, Healy.
Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)
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