For all the fears about their journey into the bear pit that is Red Star Belgrade’s unnerving stadium, Rangers did enough to emerge unscathed. Their morale, their limbs and their Europa League qualifying campaign remain firmly intact, thanks to another goalkeeping masterclass by Allan McGregor and a deflected second-half strike by Ryan Kent.
If McGregor’s outstanding saves enabled Rangers to hang in there when the heat began to rise, it was Kent’s deflected goal on the counter-attack, when Red Star were pushing furiously for a second, that effectively drew the sting out of this. The visitors were rattled at times, by Red Star and the noise of their notorious Rajko Mitic Stadium, but not enough to stop them progressing.
If Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team can come through a test like this, with all its mental and physical demands, they need fear no one in Friday’s quarter-final draw. Dejan Stankovic, the Red Star manager, will argue that his team deserved to score more over the two legs, but they were up against a team and a goalkeeper who were strong enough to handle everything that was thrown at them.
It was never meant to be easy. So plentiful were the stories about Red Star’s ground and its history of hostility that Rangers must have been tempted to take the field in flak jackets. Earlier in the day, Ally McCoist said that it was the most intimidating venue he had ever played in. Last month, there was a bonfire of seats during the Belgrade derby. Sometimes even the home support has to be segregated, so volatile are its hooligan factions.
Before the game, footage emerged of clashes with locals outside one of the hotels where Rangers supporters were staying. Serbian police warned travelling fans not to move around in small groups, not to wear colours and not be be on the streets after 11pm.
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None of which reflects particularly well on football, especially in these troubled times, when there are real wars to worry about, but fans will confess to enjoying the frisson of danger. It harks back to the days when eastern Europe was behind an Iron Curtain and trips there were a fascinating venture into the unknown.
Opened in 1963, the Rajko Mitic still has all its old contours. The shape of its big, shallow bowl has gone out of fashion in this era of steep, football-specific stands, and there are not many tunnels like the one Rangers had to negotiate on their way out on Thursday. The two-minute, 240m walk via two flights of stairs winds its way under the noisiest section of the home support.
All of that was supposed to spook Rangers, but they started rather well. Knocking the ball around with confidence and composure, they had none of the fear that Red Star had hoped to play on. When the visiting side fell behind in only the 10th minute, it was a consequence merely of their own incompetence.
Sensing perhaps that the atmosphere wasn’t as unsettling as it should have been, Guelor Kanga tried to rouse the crowd by screaming and waving his arms, but it was Rangers’ stagnant defence that gave his team the lead. Not only was his cross allowed to bounce in the box, Mirko Ivanic had time to take a touch before driving it beyond McGregor.
The early goal that Red Star needed gave them encouragement. Ivanic might have had another just a few minutes later had it not been for a terrific save by McGregor, whose long experience of nights like these was clear. When he was not wasting time with his goal kicks, a ploy that earned him a warning from the referee, he was remaining focused enough to repel Red Star’s best efforts. The 40-year-old who saved a penalty in the first leg was at it again just before half-time when he flung himself at Cristiano Piccini’s shot.
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At that point, Stankovic held his head in his hands. The Red Star manager had been a drama all of his own on the touchline, bounding about when his team made the breakthrough and protesting so vehemently about one refereeing decision that he was cautioned. It must have driven him crazy when his team twice came within an inch of scoring their second just after the interval. McGregor, again, broke his heart.
It was the rockiest period of the game for Rangers, which made Kent’s equaliser so important. Having burst clear and sent his shot in off a defender’s leg, the winger sprinted on behind the goal and celebrated in front of the 1,800 travelling fans. It silenced the rest of the crowd and, for a spell, the Red Star players.
The home side came again, but they only got their second goal, through a penalty, when it was too late. At full-time, they and Stankovic were out on the pitch, confronting their opponents in anger and frustration. Rangers’ players stood their ground, as they had done throughout.
