Rangers v Real Betis
Reaction from Rangers’ win over Real Betis.
Transcript
00:00 A very good evening from Ibrox where it's finished Rangers 1 Real Betis 0 in the first
00:08 round of fixtures in the Europa League group stages. A really important win here at Ibrox
00:14 for Rangers for a variety of reasons. Not least they start off with three points in
00:18 a competitive group against one of the teams that are planning to progress ahead of them.
00:23 But also it really lifted the mood of the Rangers fans saying it's been a tough time
00:28 for Michael Beale, they weren't a weak end in the league. Tonight they were a slow burner
00:32 but once they got going they were by far the better team and in the end Ibrox applauded
00:37 the players heartily. They'll be pleased with what they saw. It does ease the pressure a
00:41 little bit on Michael Beale. After a really poor first half it must be said both teams
00:46 struggled to get involved. The second half became far more competitive. Rangers grew
00:51 into the game, some really good performances from players like Jose Cifuentes in midfield.
00:56 Ben Davies in defence played really well and he was actually part of the goal. He came
01:01 towards the latter stages of the match, a cross into the box, a corner kick, hit it
01:05 back by Sam Lammers. Camara Ruth drew an extraordinary save from Claudio Bravo but unfortunately
01:11 for the Chilean goalkeeper the ball gets played back across and Davies and Abdalla Seema both
01:16 went for the ball at the same time. We think Abdalla Seema got the final touch. I don't
01:20 think Rangers fans will care too much. The ball was in the net and Betis to be fair to
01:24 him came back into the game a little bit more. Jack Butland made two very good saves and
01:29 Rangers held firm to pick up a really important three points. You just felt that Rangers needed
01:35 to get a result here. It didn't really matter how it came, it just meant that the confidence
01:39 could be lifted among the players, Michael Beale and his coaching staff and the fans
01:44 as well. So Rangers have gone off the mark here in the Europa League in a really important
01:47 1-0 win. The other game, Sparta Prague defeated Arras Limassol by three goals to two. So they
01:53 are level on the top with Rangers. It's worth mentioning the other Scottish team in action
01:58 in Europe this evening. That was Aberdeen. They were in Eintracht in Germany to play
02:02 Eintracht Frankfurt. Most people expected the Germans to be comfortable winners but
02:06 it was far from it. The Dons went down 2-1, a gallant defeat. Their goal came from Dante
02:11 Polvara, he equalised an early penalty but a header by Robin Cook in the 61st minute
02:16 gave Frankfurt the points. But I tell you what, Aberdeen right at the end substitute
02:21 Esser Soppler on the turn void just over the crossbar and that could have given Aberdeen
02:26 an incredible draw in Frankfurt. So that performance and result will partially lift the spirits
02:31 you'd imagine of Aberdeen and their fans after what's been a difficult start to this
02:35 domestic for them. And they'll go into their next match against AHJK South Helsinki with
02:40 a lot more confidence in a couple of weeks' time. But here in Aibarach, it's all about
02:45 Rangers. They've started the European campaign with an important 1-1 win over Real Betis.
02:50 Good night here from Germany.