LASSANA Coulibaly last night bemoaned the lack of cutting edge which saw Rangers claim only a solitary point in their home meeting against Spartak Moscow – but insisted the Ibrox side will show no fear when they travel to Moscow for the return match in a fortnight’s time. While Steven Gerrard’s side bossed much of this home match against the Russian outfit and ultimately made it a record 11 matches unbeaten in Europe this season, staying top of Group A by dint of their better head-to-head record on Villarreal, the overwhelming emotion was frustration that they weren’t able to rack up the home win which would have seen them open clear blue water on the Spaniards.
As guilty as they were of poor decision making in the final third, they were left cursing an Eros Grezda strike which shaved the top of the bar with the last kick of the game. Coulibaly doesn’t see any reason why they can’t go better when they visit the Otkritie Arena in the Russian capital in a fortnight’s time.
“There will be no fear in Moscow,” said Coulibaly. “There shouldn’t be any fear for us going into any game. We will go there with confidence. We believe we can go there and do something.
“It was a frustrating night for us despite getting the record,” the midfielder added. “We had a lot of chances to score but we just couldn’t take them. It is annoying because we controlled the game from start to finish. They didn’t give us much trouble apart from a ten minute spell in the second half. All the boys are disappointed in the dressing room, but not too much.
“You have to remember that we didn’t lose. We still managed to win another point. When you look at the whole picture two draws and a win from our first three games is not bad. Of course it could be better but we are still in a good position to qualify. There is no reason why we cannot finish top of the group. We still have Villarreal to play at home and that could be very important.
Firstly, there is the small matter of Sunday’s Betfred Cup semi-final against Aberdeen and late substitute Glenn Middleton insisted the club have no time to feel sorry for themselves. “Sunday is a semi-final and everyone knows what they mean,” said Middleton. “We want to win it. Playing for a club at Rangers, you have to try and win every game. Every game is a big one. We want to make that first final of the season and win trophies. If we carry out our game plan right on Sunday then we will give ourselves the best chance of making the final.
“The final pass wasn’t perfect but we just have to keep working.We are still top of the table so things are definitely still there in terms of progression. We can’t be too disappointed and just look to the next game.”
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