After five months and fourteen matches, Rangers’ UEFA Europa League dream is over after exiting the competition in Austria this evening.
Back in July, Steven Gerrard took charge of his first competitive Rangers match, a 2-0 victory over Macedonian minnows FK Shkupi, allaying fears that there would be a repeat of the European nightmare suffered under Pedro Caixinha.
Since then we’ve had massive results, fantastic performances and the joy of watching our side go toe-to-toe with teams from Spain, Russia and Austria. Ultimately though, through that pride, there will be a tinge of disappointment about the way we went out of the competition.
Make no mistake about it, Rangers could have qualified from this group.
Fans will look back on missed opportunities away to Spartak Moscow and tonight’s game against Vienna as the major disappointments, with both games easily resulting in draws on another night, if not victories.
The game in Russia was particularly frustrating considering we were ahead in the match three times before eventually seeing any points slip away after a quickfire second half double for the home side.
There are massive learnings to take away from the campaign as a whole and the signs are good that Gerrard can make serious progress when it comes to European competition. Should we have been more bold this evening? How do we ensure we win at home more consistently?
For me, the way to look at the entire run is to reflect on our expectations before a ball was kicked in the competition. Did we really expect to qualify for the group stages? Did we expect to pick up a point away to a La Liga side? Did any of us really envision being on the brink of victory away in Moscow?
Gerrard and his side have outdone themselves and though there’s a slight feeling of bitterness about going out tonight, I’m mostly just looking forward to next year’s competition and seeing us compete domestically.
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