second-half goals boost rangers published: tuesday 31 july 2007, 23.39cet rangers fc 2-0 fk zeta second-half goals from david weir and lee mcculloch gave the ten-man home side a two-goal cushion to take to montenegro next week.
by alex o’henley from ibrox
second-half goals by david weir and lee mcculloch gave rangers fc a 2-0 win against fk zeta in the first leg of their uefa champions league second qualifying round tie at ibrox.
boyd chance the home side almost got off to the perfect start straight from the kick-off when kris boyd raced through on goal but his angled left-foot shot bounced back off the post with saša ivanović beaten. having survived that early scare the inaugural montenegrin champions began to dominate possession in midfield and carlos cuellar had to be alert on 22 minutes to deny Žarko korać a clear shot at goal from slaven stjepanović's through ball. indeed, the visitors almost broke the deadlock six minutes before half-time when darko marković's free-kick from the edge of the area slipped outside allan mcgregor's post.
novo impact walter smith introduced nacho novo for charlie adam after the interval and the spanish forward made an immediate impact as rangers broke the deadlock on 55 minutes. novo's right-wing cross caused panic in the home defence, weir diverted the loose ball goalwards and it drifted between ivanović and jean-claude darcheville and into the unguarded net. almost immediately rangers were reduced to ten men when right-back allan hutton picked up two yellow cards within 60 seconds but the hosts still added a second 17 minutes from time when mcculloch beat ivanović to a high ball to give the glasgow club a cushion ahead of the return leg in montenegro next tuesday.
