Rangers vs FK Jablonec; UEFA Conference League Qualifying Play-offs
Rangers vs FK Jablonec. UEFA Conference League Qualifying Play-offs.
Ibrox Stadium.
Rangers 1-0 Jablonec: Ryan Naderi keeps 10-player Gers' Conference League hopes alive
Report as Rangers beat Jablonec in the first leg of their Conference League play-off; Ryan Naderi scored the only goal of the game; Vanja Dragojevic hit the post for the Ibrox side; Cammy Devlin was sent off for a high challenge; the return leg is in the Czech Republic next Thursday
Thursday 20 August 2026 23:02, UK
Ryan Naderi gave Rangers a crucial – but slender – lead in their Conference League play-off against Jablonec.
Derek McInnes got his first win as Gers manager at the fifth time of asking with a 5-1 thumping of St Mirren on Sunday but there was regression in the goalless first half which brought boos at the interval whistle.
The Govan side pepped up after the break and Naderi opened the scoring from close range in the 50th minute.
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They should have been two up just minutes later but Djeidi Gassama, one-on-one with the Jablonec goalkeeper, fired over from six yards out.
Rangers found themselves a player down when Cammy Devlin was shown a straight red card for his reckless, high challenge on Jriri Slama just five minutes after coming on.
Jablonec created little but will fancy turning the tie around in the return leg next week, following a weekend free of domestic football for Rangers to help preparations for a key European tie.
Gers fans, however, would have preferred that to have been in the Europa League, where they were dumped out of the qualifiers by Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok, before dropping down to European football's third-tier competition for the first time.
The key moments from Ibrox
5: SAVE! A well-worked move ends with Polidar firing towards goal, but it's easily gathered by Pandur.
8: SAVE! Gassama with Rangers' first chance, but his strike is palmed away by Hanus.
14: WIDE! Dragojevic's long-rangers effort is just past the post.
26: OFF THE POST! Gassama sends the ball into Dragojevic but his shot smashes off the woodwork.
41: CHANCE! Chukwuani cuts the ball back for Naderi, who is unable to tap the ball home.
50: GOAL RANGERS! Neil sends the ball to the back post, Yakota heads it back across to Naderi and he smashes it into the roof of the net.
56: CHANCE! Naderi sends the ball into Gassama in front of goal but somehow he puts it over the bar.
74: RED CARD! Devlin is sent off for a high challenge on Slama just five minutes after coming on.
Rangers taking shape?
Sky Sports News' Adam Binnie was watching at Ibrox:
McInnes' side were far from their best, but at least they somewhat controlled the game.
For the first time this season, Rangers lined up in the same shape as their previous match and refrained from making in-game formation changes until Devlin was dismissed.
4-3-3 has now yielded two consecutive victories despite McInnes reiterating his preference of playing with two strikers at his pre-match news conference.
However, Rangers' pursuit of another striker to replace the injured Youssef Chermiti in the transfer window would suggest that McInnes intends to revert back to 4-4-2 - perhaps to aid captain Lawrence Shankland who often plays better with a strike partner.
Should that be the case, Rangers would have to sacrifice a man in midfield and risk relinquishing control without a distinguishable 'number six' figure to break lines and connect the build-up.
It's premature to say the team have found their shape in 4-3-3, but it's the only one which has been able to produce victories.
McInnes: 'Still loads of work to do'
Rangers manager Derek McInnes:
"The positives are we get a clean sheet, it's another win, it's another goal for big Naderi.
"We've got something to take over to the Czech Republic.
"I think in the bigger scheme of things, there's still loads of work to do here and those improvements.
"It's important that while we're looking for those improvements, I've said this the last few weeks, it's important that we try to win games of football and we try and build a bit of confidence.
"I thought we looked quite young at times.
"Enthusiasm and the work-rate was there in bucket loads and I'll take that. We need to show a wee bit more composure and a wee bit more poise to win more games.
"There were no real surprises from them, I just want us to be better and I think we'll have to be better.
"We've got to make sure we're as strong as we can be next week and I'm confident we've got enough in us to go and do that."
What the result means and Rangers' next fixtures...
Rangers travel to the Czech Republic for the return leg next Thursday before returning to Premiership action against Aberdeen on August 30, live on Sky Sports.
