When 12 butt-clenching, agonising minutes of additional time finally came to an end, the nine men of Rangers relaxed. Through the exhaustion and relief they could peer into the future and see hope and optimism on the horizon. After a serious test of endurance they’d given themselves something to cling to in Bilbao next week.
Nico Raskin kept the ball in the corner for the final seconds then puffed out his cheeks at full-time as supporters, put through the wringer for 102 minutes, knew how he felt. Liam Kelly, the unlikely hero of the hour, looked to the heavens and punched the air with both fists, a grin crossing his face. He’d had the night of his life.
A run of five straight home defeats and porous defending against the likes of Queen’s Park, St Mirren and Hibs had finally come to an end with a clean sheet against the team sitting fourth in La Liga behind Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico. Funny old game, football.
Robin Propper had landed his team in the brown stuff after 13 minutes, chopping down Inaki Williams and denying the winger a goalscoring opportunity. Forced to play for over 80 minutes with ten men the last thing Barry Ferguson needed to see was Dujon Sterling limping from the fray. His five subs on the pitch already, the interim boss had no cards left to deal.
He’d already played his joker by dropping Jack Butland before kick-off. And, when Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs shrilled the whistle at full-time, the first man to sprint towards Liam Kelly in congratulation was the former England number one axed from the team.
Hugging like long lost brothers – they’re a funny lot goalkeepers – it was a big, magnanimous gesture from a man who must have been hurting like hell.
Twelve months ago this week Gareth Southgate travelled to Glasgow to watch Butland keep Rangers in a slightly bonkers 3-3 draw with Celtic. When he missed the cut for England’s Euro 2024 squad weeks later it felt like a slight on Scottish football. In the midst of a late Rangers title collapse the 32-year-old had been the only shining star in the Rangers sky. The only man illuminating a dressing room plunged into darkness by the points dropped against Celtic, Ross County and Dundee.
Suddenly Butland is a microcosm of the problems Rangers endure with painful regularity in Scottish football. Instead of defying the mediocrity around him, he adds to it.
He made costly mistakes in last weekend’s home defeat to Hibernian and didn’t look terribly clever in the losses to Motherwell or St Mirren either.
If Ferguson made selection decisions based on performances in Europe he’d never change anything; he’d go with the same starting eleven every game. The problem is that a Rangers team well suited to counter-attacking, high pressing football in Europe is less adept at breaking down packed defences in Scotland. And the last line of defence has been leaking like a sieve.
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Managing Clyde, Alloa and Kelty Hearts offers no preparation for dropping an international goalkeeper from the biggest game of the season. Bluntly, Ferguson felt he had no option.
He spoke after the game of the difficult conversation he had to have with a player with whom he forged a strong bond when they played together at Birmingham City.
While that’s well and good, it’s hard to see how their working relationship recovers from this. Or what the future holds for Jack Butland at Rangers.
A brave call paid off for the former Rangers captain when Kelly marked his eighth appearance since returning from Motherwell with a string of fine saves. His biggest came when he hung out a leg to stop Alex Berenguer’s penalty and send Ibrox into raptures.
"All the chat before the game was about Liam Kelly and he's done himself so proud," said former Rangers striker Steven Thompson on BBC Sportsound.
"He's a leader. He'll have been feeling massive pressure, but when you get given the chance, you've got to take it and he's done that.’
There might be a case now for Ferguson making changes for Sunday’s trip to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen. The league already gone, the priority surely has to be the second leg of a European tie Rangers retain a very real chance of winning. Now that Kelly has come in and taken his chance he has to play.
Regardless of who plays this Rangers team excel on foreign soil. They negotiated overseas games against Dynamo Kyiv, Malmo, Nice, Olympiakos and Fenerbahce unbeaten. They were seconds away from grabbing a Europa League point at Old Trafford.
Often maligned for the quality of his defending captain James Tavernier handled the world class Spain winger Nico Williams brilliantly. Spooked in the aftermath of Propper’s red card the home side steadied the ship, set up two banks of four, survived the loss of young Bailey Rice to a neck injury and forced their opponents to go the long way.
A goalless draw rarely draws many cheers from an Ibrox home crowd at full-time. Against an Athletic team which has now won just two of their last eight, scoring once in their last four, the reaction was a reflection of circumstance. Against the odds Rangers have given themselves a real chance of reaching the semi-finals.
