Thompson: Don't blame Andrews

Rangers 1 CSKA Moscow 1 (2-3 on aggregate)

Rangers striker Steven Thompson refused to blame Marvin Andrews for missing the last-gasp chance that would have kept the club’s Champions League hopes alive.

Rangers needed a goal to take their final qualifying round tie with CSKA Moscow into extra time and Andrews, the big centre half, almost provided it in the final minute.

With the score at 1-1 on the night and 3-2 to the Russians on aggregate, CSKA’s teenage goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev could only parry a Gregory Vignal free-kick as far as the Trinidad and Tobago international.

But Andrews, who had set up an 87th-minute equaliser for Thompson, could only fire his side’s last throw of the dice agonisingly wide.

Thompson said: “It was a chance but big Marv is a centre-half, he is not a striker.

“If it had fallen to one of the strikers who were on the pitch we might have scored it but I am not going to leave any blame on Marv at all.”

The Rangers players had also suffered the setback of seeing a first-half strike by Nacho Novo ruled out because German referee Wolfgang Stark had already blown for a free-kick against a CSKA challenger on the Spaniard.

Thompson was adamant the goal should have stood. He said: “I could not believe it. I thought referees are supposed to play advantage.

“The advantage should have been played, especially as it was us who were in attack. But it did not happen for us.”

The Novo “goal” apart, Rangers had struggled to create clear-cut chances in the first hour and fell behind to a Vagner Love conversion of a cut-back from Jiri Jarosik.

But Thompson argued: “It was always going to be difficult. At 0-0 we were aware that we needed only one goal and if we kept it at 0-0 we could go for it in the last 20 minutes.

“But they scored and we had to really go for it. We were a whisker away from it as well.”

Rangers must now try to pick themselves up in time for Sunday’s Old Firm derby at Parkhead, with Celtic having already established a lead at the top of the Bank of Scotland Premier League.

Rangers lost all five derbies last season and last night’s setback has heaped more pressure on manager Alex McLeish, who called for the CSKA result to be put into perspective.

He said: “I think you have to remember that this is a team still in the process of rebuilding.”

CSKA coach Valeriy Gazzaev insisted he had been impressed with Rangers over the two legs.

He said: “I like the Glasgow Rangers team very much and I wish them all the best in the UEFA Cup.”