CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:KENNY MILLER'S attempts to ingratiate himself to Rangers' followers, fittingly, were typified by 73 minutes of frustration. By the time the €2.5 million forward departed the scene at Ibrox, Miller and his team-mates were already contemplating a troublesome second leg in Lithuania on Tuesday.
FBK Kaunas will harbour legitimate hopes of recording the most noteworthy upset of their brief European history on their own turf. If they can, the financial ramifications for both halves of the Old Firm will be one of the most noteworthy stories of the Scottish season, with Celtic already guaranteed Champions League group stage football. Rangers face the prospect of elimination from Europe unless they can win the return leg.
The mere mention of Miller's name over the tannoy before kick-off prompted booing from a section of the home support. Some are unwilling to forget the 28-year-old's recent stint at Celtic.
Walter Smith took the bold move of deploying Christian Dailly in central midfield rather than Brahim Hemdani, the latter having developed into something of a specialist against continental opposition in recent times.
Smith's pre-match words of caution were in the knowledge that Kaunas have already played 15 matches in the Lithuanian league. Levels of match sharpness could, the manager warned, be a defining factor.
Miller squandered a glorious opportunity to open the scoring after 15 minutes when he collected a pass from Charlie Adam with only the goalkeeper, Marian Kello, to beat. Miller did that, but his shot lacked conviction and was thumped clear by Tomas Kancelskis. David Weir was also denied as Kaunas gave off a scene of semi-desperation for the first time of the evening. Rangers could hardly complain.
RANGERS:McGregor, Dailly (Novo 45), Broadfoot, Weir, Papac, Whittaker, McCulloch, Thomson, Adam, Darcheville (Boyd 66), Miller (Velicka 73). Subs Not Used: Alexander, Hemdani, Webster, Lafferty. Booked: McCulloch.
FBK KAUNAS:Kello, Radzius, Mendy, Kancelskis, Mrowiec, Luksa, Pilibaitis (Cinikas 83), Grigalevicius (Rimkevicius 68), Fridrikas, Zelmikas, Ledesma (Manchkhava 62). Subs Not Used: Dreer, Zubavicius, Baguzis, Mamic.
Referee:Kevin Blom (Holland).
Guardian Service
