beasley strikes as rangers progress published: tuesday 7 august 2007, 23.50cet fk zeta 0-1 rangers fc (agg: 0-3) rangers advanced with the minimum of fuss thanks to united states midfielder damarcus beasley's first goal since joining.
rangers fc advanced to the third qualifying round of the uefa champions league with the minimum of fuss, winning 1-0 against fk zeta in montenegro to seal a 3-0 aggregate triumph.
comfortable only once had rangers lost a european tie after winning the first leg 2-0 at ibrox, to bv borussia dortmund in the uefa cup third round in december 1999, and there never looked like being a repeat of that result tonight in a match of few clear openings. the only goal arrived in the 81st minute as damarcus beasley picked up possession on the left and cut inside two defenders before cleverly dispatching the ball low into the net. the glasgow club will find out their next opponents on wednesday, when fk crvena zvezda travel to fc levadia tallinn leading 1-0 from the first game in serbia.
half-chances zeta made one change from the team that had started in scotland, bringing right-back nenad djurović in for milan vučković, while rangers called in kirk broadfoot with alan hutton suspended following his first-leg dismissal. the first half was chiefly about half-chances, beasley firing wide for the visitors on eleven minutes before slaven stjepanović blazed a shot over from the edge of the rangers box on 25.
mcgregor save rangers goalkeeper allan mcgregor made his first stop on 30 minutes, diving low to smother a drive from bojan ivanović, and it was another 33 minutes before his next as he raced off his line to punch the ball clear after a raking pass had found its way over the visiting back line. the one real moment of class was orchestrated by rangers nine minutes from time, as barry ferguson and kevin thomson combined to work an opening for beasley who promptly scored his first goal in rangers' colours following his summer move from psv eindhoven.
