Rangers beaten by Jagiellonia as defensive errors prove costly in Poland
Rangers must overturn a 2-1 deficit at Ibrox next week after defensive errors gifted Jagiellonia Bialystok victory in the Europa League qualifier on Thursday night.
Rangers have work to do in their Europa League third qualifying round tie after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Jagiellonia Białystok in the first leg in Poland.
Derek McInnes’ side made an encouraging start at the Chorten Arena, but a disjointed first-half performance was punished by Kajetan Szmyt, whose double turned the game in favour of the hosts.
The result leaves Rangers trailing ahead of next Thursday’s return fixture at Ibrox, although the tie remains within reach.
Dream start undone
Rangers took the lead after only four minutes through an unfortunate own goal from Jagiellonia defender Guilherme Montoia.
Tuur Rommens drove a low cross into the penalty area and, with the ball zipping through a crowd of players, Montoia inadvertently diverted it over the line. It was the perfect start for Derek McInnes’ side, who had looked confident in the opening exchanges.
However, Rangers struggled to build on their advantage and soon Jagiellonia got back into the game.
The equaliser arrived in soft circumstances in the 13th minute. Szmyt carried the ball forward on the left before sending a cross into the box. The delivery evaded everyone, took a touch off Emmanuel Fernandez and crept inside the far post, leaving goalkeeper Ivor Pandur in no mans land.
The Polish side then completed the turnaround just eight minutes later. A Rangers attack broke down when Thelo Aasgaard attempted a spinning flick near the edge of his own penalty area. Jagiellonia immediately launched a counter-attack, with Fernandez slipping as he tried to block the resulting cross.
Pandur made an excellent initial save, but the danger was not cleared. Szmyt reacted quickest to the rebound and fired into the net to give the hosts a 2-1 lead.
Rangers lose their shape
Rangers looked vulnerable for much of the first half, with basic defensive mistakes allowing Jagiellonia to create repeated openings.
A further mix-up between Dujon Sterling and Fernandez almost led to a third goal. Rodrigo Conceição found himself with a clear opportunity, but he chose to shoot and sent the ball wide when a pass across the box could have presented a simple finish.
The first half performance prompted McInnes to make three changes at half-time. Cammy Devlin, Findlay Curtis and Nicolas Raskin were introduced as Rangers attempted to regain control and provide greater control in midfield.
The changes helped the away side settle, although Jagiellonia continued to threaten on the counter-attack.
Szmyt came close to completing his hat-trick when he tested Pandur with a shot that the Rangers goalkeeper held. Jesús Imaz then skewed a first-time effort wide after another rapid break from the home side.
Late Rangers pressure
Rangers finished the match strongly and created enough chances to have rescued a draw.
Ross McCrorie saw a powerful effort blocked, while Lawrence Shankland was unable to force the ball home from close range after a loose delivery fell to him in the area.
The best chance came in stoppage time when Curtis connected with a volley that flew past the goalkeeper but crashed back off the post.
Despite a much improved second half showing, Rangers were left to reflect on a first half in which their defensive lapses had put them in a difficult position.
McInnes admitted afterwards that Rangers had been responsible for their own downfall.
“I just felt we beat ourselves, to be honest,” the Rangers manager said. “We got off to a good start, a good bit of combination play, being patient with what we were trying to do and putting a bit of stress on their defender to defend the situation.
“Obviously, he scores an own goal and it’s a perfect start. And then we stopped doing what was working for us. We made two mistakes for the two goals.”
Rangers will now need a far more disciplined performance at Ibrox if they are to overturn the one-goal deficit and keep their Europa League campaign alive. Jagiellonia have the advantage, but the tie is not yet beyond the Scottish side.
Up next for Rangers, Hibernian travel to Ibrox in the league as both sides look to put their opening day disappointments behind them.