Liam Kelly proved the hero on a dramatic European night at Ibrox as Rangers held La Liga contenders Athletic Club to a hard-fought 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.
The Scotland international, starting in place of Jack Butland, came up big with a crucial penalty save to preserve a clean sheet and hand his side a fighting chance ahead of the return leg in Bilbao.
Interim boss Barry Ferguson made bold changes following Rangers’ demoralising defeat to Hibernian, with Butland among those dropped after a string of recent errors.
Kelly stepped in for his first appearance since the Scottish Cup exit and more than justified the decision with a string of key saves.
Rangers’ night began in adversity when Robin Propper was sent off for a challenge on Inaki Williams that denied a clear goalscoring opportunity. Initially shown a yellow card, the Dutch defender’s fate was sealed after a VAR review upgraded it to red, leaving the Gers a man down early in the contest.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Rangers stayed resilient. Kelly produced impressive stops to deny Maroan Sannadi and Oihan Sancet before halftime, keeping the home side level at the break.
Athletic Club had a goal from Alex Berenguer ruled out early in the second half after a VAR intervention. The review, however, awarded the visitors a penalty for Dujon Sterling’s handball instead. Berenguer, confident from the spot, fired straight down the middle, but Kelly stood tall, saving with his legs to spark thunderous celebrations around Ibrox.
Rangers suffered another setback when 18-year-old Bailey Rice, making only his second start, was stretchered off with a neck brace after a lengthy stoppage.
Later, Sterling was also helped off in stoppage time, reducing Rangers to nine men as all substitutions had been made.
Still, the Scottish side showed immense grit to hold off a late barrage from Ernesto Valverde’s men and secure a goalless draw that sets up a finely-poised second leg on April 17 in Spain.
Rangers Interim Boss Barry Ferguson Said, “Really proud of the effort and the commitment that my players showed tonight.
“Obviously difficult when you go down to 10 men but I thought the game plan that I gave them, they worked ever so hard to make sure that it never went all the way down.
“It has been a problem conceding goals. Since I’ve come in, that’s one of the areas where we’ve tried to work really hard. That’s what I want to see from my defenders, I want to defend. It’s not just about the defenders, I need my midfield to chip in and I need my forward players to chip in. You’ve got to remember it’s not about individuals, it’s a team sport.
“What I’ve seen tonight out there was a team that took the instructions on. Obviously the chat we had on Monday really sunk in. They took the information in as well and that’s important.
“I think anybody watching the game tonight would have seen a team that will run through brick walls for each other.
“[Dropping Jack Butland] One of the toughest things I’ve had to do. Firstly, I think Jack Buckland is a top goalkeeper. Secondly, I’ve got a very, very good relationship with Jack.
“I know it’s hurting Jack and I’ve got to be mindful of that as well because I care for him.
“Jack’s still got a huge part to play here. In terms of Liam coming in, I thought he’d did well tonight.”
Kris Boyd on Sky Sports News Added,”Rangers ended up playing with nine men for the last six minutes of injury time and they defended really well.
“It was a definite red card for Propper and if you think of the pressure Kelly was under, he deserves a lot of plaudits for his performance tonight.
“Rangers defended really well all over the pitch and it was a creditable 0-0 given they played a large majority of the tie with 10 men.
“And they will now hope to frustrate them and nick something on the counter-attack and that will suit them playing that way – it will be difficult, but no one gave them a chance going away to Fenerbahce.
“They have performed well in Europe this season and they will have a stronger team out next week.”
