For a certain type of sports fan, the numbers generated by the action are almost more important than the action. After tonight's semi-final against Fiorentina, while most Rangers supporters dream of glory or drown sorrows, others will be pondering how the result affects the team's UEFA coefficient.
He will sit quietly with his Rangers scarf tightly wrapped around his neck. His sumptuous flat near Milan will reverberate to the commentary of Fiorentina v Rangers. Sergio Porrini was an Italian internationalist. He is a fan of Rangers.
Sporting contests do not come much more exhilarating, or unrelenting, than this. nder a beautiful summer sky in Glasgow’s east end, the Old Firm derby crackled with an even greater intensity than usual.
CELTIC
Artur Boruc Could do little to keep out
two first-half headers expect stare at his defenders in frustration. That aside, was rarely tested by the Rangers attack, especially in the second half 6
Andreas Hinkel Whittaker's predilection for moving forward kept the German harnessed
inside his own half for most of the contest. Did the basics adequately without making much of an attacking contribution 6
Stephen McManus Not the commanding presence Celtic required at the heart of their defence, especially when defending corner kicks. Followed Weir in limping off injured to be replaced by O'Dea 6
Gary Caldwell Twice fortunate not to concede a first-half penalty for handball and positioning questionable at Rangers' goals. Made amends for earlier errors with commanding second-half display 7
Lee Naylor Never looked comfortable in trying to get to grips with Novo. Scarcely a surprise when his misdemeanours eventually earned him a yellow card 5
Shunsuke Nakamura His greatest input again came from set-pieces, his deftly executed first-half free-kick well pawed away by Alexander. Trickery enticed Whittaker into lunge
that earned late red card 6
Paul Hartley First real contribution' was a clumsy challenge on Ferguson that earned the midfielder a booking. Needed to keep a closer watch
on the Rangers captain and Davis but often appeared several yards off the pace 6
Barry Robson Kept his place ahead of Scott Brown and showed similar reckless tendencies to earn an early booking. Nowhere near as effective as in the last Old Firm match but converted vital penalty and looked lively late on 7
Aiden McGeady Again looked the Celtic player most likely to create from the flanks despite the tag-team marking of Broadfoot and Novo. Played a pivotal role in McDonald's second goal 7
Scott McDonald If his first goal looked marginally offside, then there was no questioning the legality of his second that soared high past Alexander. Surprisingly passed up the chance to grab a
hat trick after winning penalty 8
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink Cushioned header sent McDonald free for the opener but disappeared down a big hole thereafter. Too slow to capitalise on an early second half chance and then booked for a shocking lunge
at Faye 5
Substitutes
Georgios Samaras Pitched on for the anonymous Vennegoor of Hesselink 5
Darren O'Dea Was rarely tested after replacing the injured McManus at centre half 5
Scott Brown Late cameo as Celtic looked to hold on to their lead 5
RANGERS
Neil Alexander Looked nervous
early on in his first Old Firm start but made fine stop from a Nakamura free-kick. Helpless at McDonald's first goal, positioning possibly suspect at the
Australian's second 6
Kirk Broadfoot Seems to perform better away from home with fewer Rangers fans to appease. Chugged forward diligently whenever possible and did his best to suppress McGeady's attacking intentions before clumsily conceding the penalty that won the game 6
Christian Dailly Failed adequately to fill the substantial shoes of Carlos Cuellar. This was especially evident at Celtic's second goal where he allowed McDonald too much time to turn and shoot 5
David Weir Arrived at the scene too late to deny McDonald at the opener but atoned soon after with a brave headed equaliser from a corner kick. A real loss when he had to hobble off early in the second half 6
Sasa Papac Gave Nakamura little time to concoct magic on the Celtic right flank. On the debit side, a reluctance to push forward left Whittaker isolated whenever Rangers attacked down the left 6
Nacho Novo The perfect embodiment of tenacity
succeeding over technique.
The queue snaked on and on, with many of those involved standing quietly, alone in their thoughts. They anticipated ecstasy or agony, but either way it looked like every supporter Morton possessed had rolled up to Firhill to face their team’s fate head on.
Clyde hadn’t won a game by this margin all season and this was only their second clean sheet of 2008. Easy to see then, why they were in danger of
facing play-offs to survive in the first division.
If only Gretna were as resilient and robust-looking off the park as they currently appear on it, the club’s anxious employees would breathe a lot easier.
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