UEFA CUP Fiorentina 0 Rangers 0 (Rangers win 4-2 on penalties aet):SO THE dream, incredibly, remains alive. Rangers will tackle an old friend in Dick Advocaat, their former manager, when they face Zenit St Petersburg in the Uefa Cup final at the City of Manchester Stadium in 12 days.
Neil Alexander's save from Fabio Liverani and a wild attempt by Christian Vieri, which sailed high into the Tuscan sky, ensured Walter Smith's team were victorious here after adopting a siege mentality for what had gone before. It was left to Nacho Novo to slot home the winning kick, which he did with aplomb.
An epic European run, which began last July, is within touching distance of returning silverware.
A full 210 minutes had failed to produce a goal between these sides, with Rangers' task made even tougher by the actions of Daniel Cousin, their French striker who earned himself a second yellow card, 10 minutes from the end of extra-time, having become involved in a needless exchange with Liverani.
Fiorentina will harbour grievances that they will not be in Manchester, a factor due entirely to their own inability to convert territorial dominance into chances and a superb Rangers rearguard action.
If Rangers were to bring out a video charting their European exploits this season, it is unlikely to attract interest from football purists. The pragmatic nature of Smith's tactics would most probably and ironically gain a few nods of approval from Italian football traditionalists.
Fiorentina became the latest foreign side to blow and blow without shattering Smith's defence.
But the hosts must take their share of the blame for forcing their followers to watch an extra half hour of play. Territorially superior for virtually the entire contest, La Viola should have converted much more of their play into meaningful chances and at least one goal.
When Rangers did have the ball they were considerably more fluid than in the first leg, largely due to the return of Barry Ferguson and Kevin Thomson from suspension.
But Rangers' defence, which had been breached only twice in seven Uefa Cup outings, was more ragged than their manager would appreciate. That they reached half-time with the scores level was a moral victory of sorts.
Zenit St Petersburg reached their first European final as they inflicted a humiliating 4-0 defeat on Bayern Munich for a 5-1 aggregate win. Their scorers were Pavel Pogrebnyak (two), Konstantin Zyryanov and Viktor Faitzulin but Pogrebnyak, the tournament's top scorer with 11 goals, will miss the final after picking up a second booking.
Guardian Service
FIORENTINA:Frey, Jorgensen, Gamberini, Ujfalusi, Gobbi, Donadel (Kuzmanovic 42), Liverani, Montolivo, Santana (Semioli 94), Pazzini (Vieri 79), Mutu. Subs not used: Avramov, Dainelli, Osvaldo, Pasqual.
RANGERS:Alexander, Broadfoot, Cuellar, Weir, Papac, Hemdani, Davis (Novo 81), Ferguson, Thomson, Whittaker, Darcheville (Cousin 65). Subs not used: Graeme Smith, Buffel, Boyd, Dailly, Faye. Sent off: Cousin (110). Booked: Thomson, Weir, Cousin.
Referee:Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium).
