Panathinaikos 1
Rangers1
Scorers: Panathinaikos - Konstantinidis (88);
Rangers - Emerson (35)
Rangers turned in a mature, composed performance in Athens last night to leave with a point, and only a moment of defensive sloppiness two minutes from time cost them their first away win in the Champions League for three years.
The result, which Alex McLeish would surely have accepted before the kick-off but which ultimately left him disappointed, puts them one point clear of Manchester United and VfB Stuttgart on top of Group E.
Panathinaikos, reduced to 10 men for the final third of the match, can expect to face sanctions from UEFA after flares were fired on to the pitch and bottles and tumblers were thrown at the referee and Rangers players.
It was an evening when the Scottish champions, and McLeish, came of age in Europe. Despite the late lapse, the double-header with Manchester United does not appear quite as intimidating as it did when the draw was first made.
The atmosphere in the Apostolis Nikolaidis Stadium was every bit as fevered as had been expected, with many of the home support sporting Celtic strips, while Rangers fans wore their red-and-white striped away top, coincidentally the colours of Panathinaikos' arch-rivals Olympiakos.
Rangers seemed to be inspired rather than cowed by the cacophony which engulfed them as they left the tunnel and they were the quicker to settle into a rhythm.
Shota Arveladze shot wastefully over after being teed up by Michael Mols, before Mikel Arteta's driven free-kick fizzed across the face of Konstantinos Chalkias' goal but found no-one in a blue shirt.
The Spaniard was a key man for Rangers, his fluidity of movement and intelligent passing integral to every move. He also kept his side level in the 12th minute when he headed a Silvio Maric volley off the line after his defence had failed to clear their lines at a corner.
It was, as anticipated, a bruising encounter at times and Emerson found himself at the sharp end of a brutal tackle from behind by Maric, which earned the Croat the first yellow card of the evening.
Arturo Dauden Ibanez had a tight grip of proceedings, which was not appreciated by the Panathinaikos coach, Itzhak Shum, or the local fans, who threw plastic tumblers at the Spanish official as he lectured Shum.
Another glass, aimed at Stephen Hughes as he warmed up on the touchline, struck another home supporter; fortunately for Rangers, the home players were more accurate. Joel Epalle's deep cross to the far post was met by Panagiotis Fissas but the full-back inexplicably elected to head the ball back across goal instead of attempting to score himself and the opening was squandered.
Galvanised by that reprieve, Rangers made the breakthrough they had been threatening. Their 35th-minute goal was beautiful in its simplicity.
Mols and Zurab Khizanishvili combined to spring the Panathinaikos offside trap, releasing Nuno Capucho on the right.
The Portuguese winger timed his cross to perfection and the unlikely figure of Emerson arrived in the six-yard box to stab the ball home.
The frustration of the home side was further evinced when Goran Vlaovic was booked for clicking the goalscorer's heels. Panathinaikos' plight worsened on the stroke of half-time when defender Sotirios Kirgiakos sustained a knee injury in a collision with Stefan Klos and replaced by Ioannis Goumas.
The substitute had been on for less than two minutes when he had his name taken for a crude lunge at Peter Lovenkrands. With Rangers controlling the tempo and direction of the game and Panathinaikos reduced to shooting from distance, the mood of the home support in the 13,718 crowd grew ever more restless.
Their discontent rose to new levels in the 56th minute when Goumas was harshly shown a second yellow card for pulling Arveladze back by his shirt.
The Greeks then threw caution to the wind but their increasingly desperate attacks foundered on the twin rocks of Craig Moore and Henning Berg, outstanding at the back as Rangers maintained their discipline despite considerable provocation.
With Michael Ball again turning in the sort of performance which will surely attract the attention of the England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and Emerson displaying steel as well as the guile to control the engine room, it was a performance to savour.
Arteta, for time-wasting, was the only visitor to fall foul of the referee on a night when the standing of Rangers, and Scottish football, was enhanced, even if it was the first European tie in the club's history not to feature a single Scot.
Just as the tie seemed under control, the roof fell in. With what proved to be the last significant attack of the match, Michalis Konstantinou supplied Dimitris Papadopolous on the right and, when his cross arrived, Pantelis Konstantinidis stole in front of Khizanishvili to head home from point-blank range.
It was a cruel blow but the fortitude shown in the 88 minutes before its arrival suggests it may not be a fatal one.
Substitutions
Panathinaikos Goumas (Kyrgiakos 46) Papadopoulos (Vlaovic 63), Konstantinidis (Epalle 78)
Rangers Vanoli (Lovenkrands 76) Nerlinger (Arveladze 84)
Subs not used
Panathinaikos Nikopolidis, Munch, Sanmartean, Basinas
Rangers McGregor, Ostenstad,
Malcolm, Ross, Hughes
REFEREE Arturo Dauden Ibanez (Spain)
bookED
Panathinaikos Maric 16, Vlaovic 42, Goumas 46, Epalle 60
Rangers Arteta 72
SENT OFF
Panathinaikos Goumas 56
Attendance 13,718
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