Late Novo strike hands Rangers slim lead
Novo grabbed a potentially vital goal
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Tuesday, 14, Aug 2007 10:09
Rangers will travel to Serbia nursing a narrow one-goal advantage after a late strike from Spanish striker Nacho Novo produced a 1-0 win over Crvena Zvezda in the Champions League third round qualifier first leg.
The Ibrox scoreboard showed the game entering its final minute of normal time when Novo latched onto a low cross from Lee McCulloch to slot the ball past Ivan Randjelovic from close range.
A tricky task seems to await Walter Smith's side in the second leg as the visitors' organised defensive display effectively cut down space and chances and made for a dreary spectacle.
A couple of quicksilver bursts from Jean-Claude Darcheville momentarily stretched the Zvezda backline during the first half, but the hosts could just as easily have been behind at the interval had Carlos Cuellar managed to get his forehead onto a cross to the far post.
There was little more to excite the neutral after the break as speculative long-range attempts from substitute Daniel Cousin and Barry Ferguson whistled high and wide in Rangers' best moments.
Zvezda dropped deeper and deeper in a concerted attempt to hold on for a goalless draw and it appeared that their tactic would work until Novo darted in to nudge home a winner.