Joe McConnell
Cyriel Dessers’ dramatic 94th-minute equaliser earned Rangers a crucial draw against Dynamo Kiev in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier.
The result was deserved, and much needed after the 0-0 draw in the opening Scottish Premiership game against Hearts, with the game now decided ahead of next week’s return leg in Glasgow.
Dinamo, who had beaten Partizan Belgrade 9-2 in the previous round, took the lead through Andriy Yarmolenko after Tom Lawrence and Ross McCausland had troubled Rangers.
With time running out, Dessers headed in Vaclav Cerney’s cross, scoring what could prove to be a valuable goal in Poland.
The winner of the tie will face either RB Salzburg or FC Twente for a place in this season’s Champions League group stage.
From disappointment to joy
Dessers scored with the last kick of the match
Philippe Clement is engaged in a massive overhaul at Ibrox and Champions League money is vital, but he and the Gers fans know improvements are needed.
The Ibrox side got off to a decent start, with midfielders Lawrence and Dessers both seeing their shots saved by goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan.
At the other end, Vladyslav Vanat headed in after Gers goalkeeper Jack Butland had parried a shot from Kostian Vivcharenko, but the offside flag was up, much to the relief of the Gers camp.
Rangers’ Tom Lawrence (centre) has a shot on target
Rangers responded and winger McCausland fired a 22-yard strike into the post, before Butland made a good save to deny Oleksandr Pikhalyonok’s long-range effort.
They played another good game, but a mistake by Ridvan Yilmaz proved costly.
The Turkish defender accidentally lost possession in the centre of the pitch and, when the ball was played to Vanat inside the box, he crossed for 34-year-old former West Ham striker Yarmolenko to fire into an empty net from three metres.
It was the sloppiest goal to miss.
Dynamo’s Andriy Yarmolenko scores the opening goal of the match
Just before half-time, Dessers headed the ball past the keeper from close range and would have been happy to have been adjudged offside.
New Brazilian signing Jefte replaced the ineffective Scott Wright early in the second half to make his debut and his fantastic cross from the left was intercepted by Dessers, but his glancing header was well cleared by the outstretched Bushchan, who turned it out for a corner but it came to nothing.
New signing Cerny replaced McCausland on the hour mark and the game continued to change pace from one side to the other.
Rangers finished the game strongly enough, but it looked as if they would have to accept a narrow defeat until the enigmatic Dessers crept in at the near post to turn in Cerny’s inviting cross, converting it into a goal that could have proved decisive.
Clemente: The desserts continued to believe
Cyriel Dessers equalizes with the last kick of the match
The Rangers manager Philip Clement spoken to BBC Scotland:
“We had six shots on target, they had three. We kept pushing until the end to get the result and I’m happy about that because we want this mentality: working until the last second, continuing to move forward and believing.
“We have several new players now, young players, and they have made it. Vaclav [Cerny] had an important assist. Cyriel [Dessers] he kept pushing to reach the goal.
“He had a few chances that he finished well and the goalkeeper saved. He continued to believe and I’m happy for him that he scored.
“If we compare him to seven months ago, we see that he does much more for the team.
“Maybe people have a perception of him, but I know no defender likes to play against him. He’s just growing. That’s what we want.
“They took the lessons well. We are in this reconstruction. It is very positive to get the result we got today, and with the physical form of players like Vaclav [Cerny] Coming out of vacation, Dujon [Sterling] coming off an injury.”
VAR officials changed after reports of arrests
UEFA has replaced two referees for the first leg of the Champions League third round qualifier following reports of improper conduct.
ERA Bartosz Frankowski and assistant Thomas Musial have been removed, with Tomasz Kwiatkowski AND Pawel Malec taking their place.
The news came following reports in Poland that Frankowski and Musial had been arrested after they were seen drunk and carrying a road sign along a road, along with a third person.
The reported incident occurred in Poland, where the match was played, as Kiev cannot play matches in Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict.
What does the future hold for the Rangers?
