October 26, (THEWILL) – Rangers were forced to settle for a point after being outplayed for much of their UEFA Europa League clash away to Sparta Prague on Thursday, grinding out a 0-0 draw in the Czech Republic.
The Light Blues went into the game on the back of an emphatic 4-0 win over Hibernian on Saturday, in new manager Philippe Clement’s first match in charge. However, it was keeper Jack Butland that kept Sparta at bay in the first half as Rangers lacked attacking spark with Cyriel Dessers in front.
The hosts dominated the early proceedings and Butland made a string of fine saves to deny Veljko Birmancevic and Qazim Laci. Rangers offered little going forward and were indebted to Butland for keeping out further efforts from Laci and Matej Rynes before the break.
Sparta continued to threaten after half time and Butland brilliantly denied Martin Vitik and Jan Kuchta as the Light Blues struggled to get a foothold in the game.
The introduction of substitutes Danilo for Dessers and Scott Wright for Todd Cantwell gave Rangers fresh impetus in the closing stages. Danilo was denied by the woodwork but Clement will be concerned by his side’s lack of creativity for long spells as they now sit third in Group C on 4 points.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
