Rangers enjoyed their first European home win in seven attempts as they beat Bursaspor 1-0 at Ibrox.
Naismith strike proves enough as Scottish champions stand firm
Rangers enjoyed their first European win at Ibrox in seven attempts as they held on for a 1-0 victory at home to Bursaspor.
Steven Naismith gave the Scottish champions a deserved lead with his first Champions League goal in the 18th minute.
And although Bursaspor enjoyed plenty of possession, the hosts restricted the Turkish champions to only hopeful long-range efforts, with Gers midfielder Maurice Edu going closest to scoring in the second half.
Walter Smith's men stood firm late on to secure their first European home win since beating Werder Bremen 2-0 in March 2008 en route to reaching the 2007/08 Uefa Cup Final.
That helps to erase the memory of last season's competition, when Rangers lost all three group games at Ibrox conceding 10 goals in the process, and puts them in a strong position to challenge for a place in the knock-out stage having taken four points from their opening two Group C games.
Kirk Broadfoot and Edu were added to the starting line-up from Sunday's 3-2 win at Aberdeen with Vladimir Weiss dropping to the bench and Nikica Jelavic ineligible, meaning Smith fielded the same side that drew 0-0 at Manchester United.
Positive start
And Gers made a positive start with the impressive Edu going close with a shot from the edge of the box that deflected just wide.
Naismith then won a free-kick which was curled into the box by Steven Davis and cleared as far as Madjid Bougherra, whose effort dipped over the crossbar after clipping a Bursaspor defender.
And the breakthrough came when Steven Whittaker's diagonal ball from the right found Broadfoot, who headed towards the six-yard box, where Naismith got in front of his marker to poke the ball home.
Rangers keeper Allan McGregor was called into action to tip Gokcek Wederson's fierce 30-yard free-kick over the bar as the Turks tried to haul themselves back in the game.
Naismith then sent a difficult volley wide from Whittaker's cross before Kenny Miller, who has scored 10 goals in six league games so far this season, saw a close-range shot saved by Dimitar Ivankov just after the restart following Edu's through-ball.
Penalty shout
Bursaspor had a strong penalty shout waved away as Sercan Yildirim's goalbound effort was blocked by Lee McCulloch's arm.
Edu was then denied by keeper Ivankov, with Naismith blasting the rebound well over, before McCulloch's cut-back gave Edu a clear opening and the American midfielder took one touch before sweeping his shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box.
The visitors kept Rangers pegged back for much of the closing stages but failed to forge any clear-cut chances as Wederson, substitute Federico Insua and centre-half Milan Stepanov all fired wide as the hosts hung on.
| Rangers |
Team Statistics |
Bursaspor |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 6 |
Shots off Target |
10 |
| 5 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 3 |
Corners |
4 |
| 13 |
Fouls |
22 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 75.8 |
Passing Success |
82.5 |
| 17 |
Tackles |
10 |
| 76.5 |
Tackles Success |
60 |
| 43.8 |
Possession |
56.2 |
| 51.3 |
Territorial Advantage |
48.7 |
|
