Rangers 0 – 2 Dynamo Kyiv

Jefte was harshly sent off for Rangers before two quick goals from Dynamo Kiev ended their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League for another season.

Cyriel Desser’s last-gasp equaliser in the first leg had given Rangers hope and both he and Ross McCausland had chances to give them the lead early in the third qualifying round second leg at Hampden Park.

Already booked, Jefte was punished in the 50th minute with a yellow card for diving for a header and was shown a red card, which made the match very tough for the hosts.

They held out for 30 minutes, but Philippe Clement’s side eventually collapsed and substitutes Oleksandr Pikhalyonok and Nazar Voloshyn scored in quick succession, sealing a 2-0 win on the night (3-1 on aggregate) and taking Dynamo into the play-offs to face RB Salzburg.

Heartbreak at Hampden

It wasn’t a great night for Clement’s side, who will see this as a missed opportunity as they will be relegated to the less prestigious and certainly less lucrative group stage of the Europa League.

Rangers started with a high pressing and the visitors initially looked uncomfortable in defence.

However, Oleksandr Shovkovskyi’s side managed to force their way into the match and in the ninth minute winger Vladyslav Kabaev beat Rangers captain James Tavernier on the left, but his inviting cross found no one, much to the Rangers’ relief.

Rangers made little progress until the 20th minute, when Jefte headed a Tavernier cross past the far post, before firing over the bar from 25 metres a few minutes later.

A header from Dessers from a Jefte cross was easily saved by Kyiv goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan and then, as Rangers pressed, the ball found its way to Tom Lawrence inside the box but he was unable to get into position to shoot.

When they attacked, Kiev looked fast and determined, which kept the Rangers defense on high alert.

On a Rangers counterattack shortly after the half-hour mark, Dessers fed McCausland but, despite his shot being parried by Bushchan, Clement’s side failed to capitalise on the loose ball.

Cerny replaced McCausland early in the second half, which gave Rangers fans cause for optimism, but that was dashed when Jefte, booked for a goal-line foul on Andriy Yarmolenko after 30 minutes, was again booked and sent off for an aerial foul on Oleksandr Karavaiev.

As the dust settled on what looked like a second light yellow and the Rangers fans turned up the volume in defiance, Karavaiev broke free from the defence but fired wide.

Kiev took advantage of the extra player and moved in a threatening manner before Rangers recovered and the game changed dramatically.

In the 68th minute, Dujon Sterling replaced the tired midfielder Mohamed Diomande and Ben Davies replaced Ridvan Yilmaz, who had been carried off on a stretcher after sustaining an injury from a shot a few minutes earlier.

It was another blow for the Light Blues and Dessers appeared to resent the fans after hearing groans and complaints when he lost possession without any support.

Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland was not threatened at all, but did manage to save a long-range shot from Taras Mykhavko.

However, in the 82nd minute, he had few chances when Pikhalyonok shot from long range without any pressure from the Rangers defence.

Voloshyn then converted a pass from Mykola Shaparenko to seal the draw, with Butland making a late save when he parried a shot from Vladyslav Vanat, following his initial miss.

Clement: Worst decision I’ve ever seen

Rangers manager Philippe Clement on the red card decision:

“I’ve seen some images and it’s clear that sometimes in football there is a grey area and that’s why there is VAR and it helps make football more honest.

“But the decision had nothing to do with the gray area. It was really clear, nothing was happening.

“Jephthah jumps higher, he doesn’t move his hand, his arm is next to his body, it’s nothing.

“I try to understand the decision and ask, but the referee remained firm in his opinion, it was an obvious foul and a second yellow and a red. I’m sure his superiors will have another idea.

“It’s a very decisive moment and ultimately it killed the dream of the dressing room and killed the dream of over 50,000 fans and you expect a better level of decision-making.

“This is the worst decision I have ever seen in more than 30 years of football.

“I have a lot of things on my mind, but you know if I say too much I might get banned, so let’s keep things in mind.

“I have to be good and smart for the club and the team and we have to move forward and take positive lessons from these two games.”

Boyd: A Hammer Blow

Vscek Kris Boyd on Jefte’s dismissal:

“How this could have been given as a second yellow card is a mystery to me. He jumps up with his arms at his sides, the Dynamo Kiev player goes to the ground and the referee buys him and gives him a yellow card.

“I know with VAR you can’t go and check a second yellow card, but it was horrible.

“We have to pick ourselves up from there, but you get the feeling that the Rangers could have played all night and not scored.

“This is a huge blow for Rangers. I’m not saying they would have beaten Salzburg in the next round, but the £5m would have been huge, could it have been invested in the squad to strengthen it?

“It’s a lot of money for Rangers not to earn, especially considering the game in Poland last week and the performance they put in.

“Plus, 39,000 at Hampden. Rangers fans are not happy and rightly so. This whole stadium situation has come back to cost Rangers dearly again.

“Champions League nights at Ibrox, teams collapse. There wasn’t much atmosphere at Hampden tonight.”

What does the future hold for the Rangers?