Defeating La Liga outfit Real Betis – unbeaten at home all season - the Light Blues, who don’t have their injury problems to seek, dug out a remarkable 3-2 victory to send them forth to Sunday’s League Cup final in the finest of fettle.
From the team which defeated Dundee 3-1 at Ibrox last Saturday, the manager named four changes. Connor Goldson, Ben Davies, Sam Lammers and Ross McCausland came in for John Souttar, Leon Balogun, Todd Cantwell and Rabbi Matondo.
That meant it was Jack Butland in goal with captain James Tavernier, Goldson, Davies and Borna Barisic in front of him.
John Lundstram and Jose Cifuentes retained their places in the XI at the base of the midfield, with McCausland and Abdallah Sima either side of Sam Lammers, and Cyriel Dessers leading the line.
The opening stages were very even, before Gers worked the first big opening on eight minutes. Lammers did superbly to win the ball in midfield before setting course for goal. He chipped a ball left for Sima, who cut inside and only a deflection from the boot of Hector Bellerin prevented the Senegal international from opening the scoring.
He wasn’t to be denied, however. Two minutes later, he had Gers in front with a superb finish at the end of a fantastic move.
Tavernier won the ball this time and fed McCausland. He charged forward, found Dessers just inside the box, before he deftly flicked a ball on for Sima to smash home from 15 yards out and send the 3000+ Rangers supporters inside the stadium wild.
The leads was to last just four minutes, however. Juan Miranda worked the space down the left and smashed an excellent finish beyond Jack Butland to level matters.
Butland had to make a smart save from a fierce Bellerin drive just minutes later, before captain Andres Guardado smashed a wicked 30-yard drive off the underside of the goalkeeper’s crossbar.
Rangers were doing well to hold Betis at bay – and they hit back on the 20 minute mark to take the lead through a wonderful Cyriel Dessers goal.
It was the Belgian who started the move, heading a Barisic throw-in into the path of Cifuentes. Cifuentes then set Dessers running, and he skinned Marc Roca before coolly slotting the ball through ‘keeper Rui Silva’s legs for his eighth of the season to spark more bedlam among the traveling Bears.
Gers were doing well to keep Betis out while trying to venture forward themselves, but on 37 minutes, Betis levelled once again, this time it was Ayoze Perez with another super finish beyond Butland.
The space was certainly there for Gers, and Sima came so close to another four minutes before the break with a deft chip over the goalkeeper dropping just wide when McCausland put him in at the end of a fine run from the young Ulsterman.
There was then a claim for a penalty for Gers with an apparent push on Dessers’ back inside the area going unpunished, and 2-2 is how it stood at the end of a breathless half.
Dujon Sterling replaced Cifuentes at the break, and while Betis had the best of the early stages of the new half, Gers were awarded a free-kick right on the 18-yard line when Lammers was felled. Barisic’s resultant effort came back off the wall.
Gers survived a lengthy VAR check when German Pezzella bundled a corner home at the back post. While the flag was up for offside, the eventual decision was to award a foul in Gers’ favour for handball.
Still Gers hung in, and the attacking substitutions of Philippe Clement paid off on 78 minutes.
From a Barisic corner, Connor Goldson kept the ball alive at the back post and managed to slide a ball along the goalline for sub Kemar Roofe to turn and fire home from close range.
Betis threw the proverbial kitchen sink at Gers in the closing stages, but the Light Blues hung on for a famous, famous win.
REAL BETIS BALOMPIE: Silva, Bellerin, Miranda, Pezzella, Iglesias, Perez, Carvalho, Guardado, Roca, Isco, Diao.
SUBS: Vieitas, Garcia, Exxalzouli, Henrique, Jose, Rodri, Vinicius, Ruibal, Fernandez.
RANGERS: Butland, Tavernier, Goldson, Davies, Barisic, Lundstram, Cifuentes (Sterling, 45), Sima, Lammers, McCausland (Matondo, 65), Dessers (Roofe, 65).
SUBS: McCrorie, Wright, Souttar, Devine, Lyall, McKinnon.
REFEREE: Srdjan Jovanovic (Serbia)
ATTENDANCE: 48,380