Servette coach Rene Weiler believes his side lost to a ‘very good opponent’ on Wednesday night as Rangers secured a 2-1 win in the first leg of their Champions League third-round qualifier.
After exploding out of the blocks at Ibrox – James Tavernier slamming in a penalty after five minutes and Cyriel Dessers opening his Rangers account after 15 – there was a nagging feeling of regret at full-time; Mick Beale’s side failing to make their dominance count against a team who played the final half hour with ten men.
Servette, despite finding themselves on the losing side, head back to Switzerland rather happier with the eventual result than their Glasgow-based hosts ahead of next week’s second leg clash.
Head coach Rene Weiler is certainly concentrating on the positives.
Rangers secure narrow Servette win
“It’s a result which leaves the door open for us next week going into the second-leg,” Weiler says, via the Daily Record and Nau. “It was a tough start for us early on to go down two goals. They came at us with a high level of play. It was difficult but we got a stroke of luck with the penalty.
“With the red card, it was tough for us. In the end, it’s a good result for us and leaves us with a possibility next week.
“But the Rangers are just a very good opponent.”
While Beale was understandably frustrated at full-time – criticising a wasteful Rangers side for failing to get the job done on the night – there was still a sense of relief after his charges bounced back from Saturday’s insipid opening day defeat at Kilmarnock.
Dessers, Danilo and Sam Lammers offered glimpses of their potential as a new-look frontline. John Souttar and Borna Barisic were much improved from the weekend, combining in the build-up to Dessers’ goal.
And Todd Cantwell – who’s omission raised eyebrows aplenty at Rugby Park – certainly did his hopes of a starting role going forward no harm at all, a performance of typical tenacity and no-little creativity.
“We started really well,” Beale reflects. “And I thought the energy from the team was really good in and out of possession. The desire shown by Nico (Raskin) and Todd before the first goal to go chase a couple of lost causes down was fantastic.
“I felt Borna Barisic had a good night and put some great crosses in.
“At that moment (following Dessers’ goal) we were in a great place. But after that I thought we were wasteful.”
