Rangers 1-0 Ufa: Steven Gerrard's side clinch narrow first leg win at Ibrox

Now, they are just 90 minutes away. A 1-0 win over Ufa, courtesy of Connor Goldson’s first half effort, has Steven Gerrard’s side in the driving seat but the Ibrox boss still has work to do to steer his side through this play-off tie.

Having gone up, down and across the country to earn this European chance, it is perhaps fitting that they will have had to put in the miles on the continent.

Shkupi, Osijek and Maribor have been seen off and now one final hurdle remains for Rangers as they look to overcome Ufa and tick the first box of the Gerrard reign.

After turning in impressive performances away in Croatia and Slovenia in recent weeks, Gerrard will be confident his side can progress and return from a marathon trip to Bashkortostan with their place in the group stages secured.

The task could, and perhaps should, have been far easier, though, and the journey will be made knowing nothing can be taken for granted after a narrow, but deserved, first leg victory here. It was enough on the night, but it remains to be seen if it will be enough overall.

Boss Gerrard spoke this week, as he has done often this term, about the importance of the Ibrox factor for Rangers. He wants Rangers to ‘own the stadium’.

That chemistry between the players and the punters has grown week by week, game by game so far this season but there was an unusual and unexpected dip at times here.

Daniel Candeias brought the crowd to their feet twice in the opening minutes as his shot from distance was tipped over by Alexander Belenov before the keeper had to turn a whipped cross from the right round his near post.

When Alfredo Morelos got a head to a terrific long pass from Goldson and forced Belenov into another stop, it looked like Rangers were getting into their rhythm against an Ufa side that were compact and competent.

Not for the first time this season, and it certainly won’t be for the last, Rangers were faced with a tough task to break down stubborn, stuffy opposition. They had to be patient as they looked to be productive with their possession.

The flow of the game was all one way as Rangers moved the ball from side to side but there wasn’t enough creativity in the final third and the tempo wasn’t in their play. It was surprisingly flat at times.

For stages of the first half, it felt more like a run of the mill Premiership game than a European night under the Ibrox floodlights. The players seemingly needed the crowd to get them going, but the fans were waiting for a flash of inspiration on the park.

The likes of Ryan Kent and Candeias on the flanks had to provide more and the on-loan Liverpool kid showed a good turn of pace to collect a pass from Scott Arfield and burst forward. As Morelos tried to get himself into a scoring position, he was fouled on the edge of the area.

From the free-kick, Tavernier fired straight at Belenov. It was a comfortable stop that summed up the night for Ufa, who seemed content to try and stifle Rangers.

The attacking onus was on Gerrard’s side but chances were hard to come by. A Morelos header was as close as they would come for some time as the interval approached.

Then, finally, the breakthrough arrived. Morelos was denied by Belenov as he connected with a Kent corner but Goldson was on hand to knock into the net and give the home crowd something to cheer at last.

It had been a long time coming but, on the balance of play, it was deserved for Rangers as they broke the Russian resistance with just minutes remaining in the first half.

Now, they had to build on it. The Gers had Allan McGregor to thank for ensuring their lead lasted until the break, though.

Dmitry Zhivoglyadov found himself in space inside the area but McGregor was equal to a well struck strike as he made a smart save. Second later, Ivan Paurevic fired just over as Ibrox breathed a collective sigh of relief.

It hadn’t been bad, but it wasn’t great. There was a lack of guile in the side as Rangers pressed and probed but never really looked like carving Ufa open at will and better was required if they were to take a significant step towards the group stages.

It was the second half showing against Maribor at Ibrox a fortnight ago that had laid the foundations for Rangers to reach the play-off stage as Tavernier converted from the spot and Lassana Coulibaly, still absent through injury, headed home a decisive third.

Gerrard needed a similar level, and a similar outcome, in the second 45 minutes here and it was Morelos that came closest in the opening exchanges. The Colombian collected a through ball from Tavernier, spun well and fired just wide of target.

Ibrox responded with a roar of encouragement and there was soon an ironic cheer as Sylvester Igboun was booked. It had been a long time coming for Ufa, who had committed 17 fouls alone in the first half of in a stop start encounter.

The visitors posed no threat. Boss Sergei Tomarov would have been satisfied with the state of play but Gerrard’s side needed a second goal to give them a bit of breathing space going into the return leg.

The energy had dropped out of Rangers’ play again but the introduction of Lafferty, on in place of Candeias, brought the Light Blue legions to their feet.

With his first touch, he almost flicked a header into the path of Morelos. Within a couple of minutes, he had his first booking after inadvertently catching Veroljub Salatic.

It was a goal that Lafferty really wanted but he couldn’t cap a dream week in style after he returned to his boyhood heroes and penned a two-year deal at Ibrox. It didn’t come for the Northern Irishman or Rangers, though.

Gerrard added another win and another clean sheet to his record and, ten competitive games in, his side have still not been behind at any stage.

If that record continues, he will have achieved what he set out to at the start of the summer and Ibrox will be hosting more European evenings in the coming months. The journey is not over yet.