licka strike sinks rangers published: friday 4 october 2002, 0.02cet rangers fc 3-1 fk viktoria zizkov aet (agg: 3-3; zizkov win on away goals) zizkov sneak through after extra time.
a thrilling period of extra time saw fk viktoria zizkov record an extraordinary 3-1 win against rangers fc at ibrox and earn a place in the second round of the uefa cup on the away goals rule after winning the first leg 2-0 in prague.
decisive lead substitute marcel licka drilled a left-wing cross past stefan klos eleven minutes into added time to cancel out neil mccann's effort four minutes earlier and give zizkov a decisive lead in the tie.
stunning saves however, rangers threw everything at the czechs in the final 15 minutes, which saw goalkeeper pavel kucera pull off some stunning saves, including one from his opposite number stefan klos, who had come up for a corner. defender jan buryán headed off the line and was then sent off for an off-the-ball incident involving craig moore.
clever dummy the home side had taken the lead through ronald de boer after 43 minutes as he overcame an earlier miss to drive past kucera after a clever dummy from scotland international barry ferguson had allowed him space inside the area.
de boer double the visitors were in no mood to sit back and defend their first-leg lead, and michel smarda and ales pikl had both threatened to score vital away goals before de boer doubled rangers's advantage as shota arveladze's shot was deflected into his path by kucera and he lashed the ball into the empty net at the far post.
off the crossbar de boer almost completed a hat-trick but his header was denied by the crossbar five minutes from time, but that all seemed irrelevant as he provided the cross for mccann to put rangers ahead for the first time in the tie in extra time. it was to prove a costly miss in the long run.
