Unirea Urziceni 1 Rangers 1:RANGERS' Champions League hopes were left hanging in the balance when a late equaliser from Unirea Urziceni denied them a crucial first victory in the tournament this season. Rangers headed into last night's clash in Bucharest knowing defeat would spell the end of their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages.
Lee McCulloch thought he had secured the win with a superb strike with just 11 minutes to go but Unirea hit back to claim a point when substitute Marius Onofras grabbed a last-gasp leveller. The biggest surprise in Walter Smith’s team selection was the decision to hand 17-year-old Danny Wilson his first taste of Champions League action in the heart of defence.
Rangers opened the scoring with 79 minutes gone when McCulloch tried his luck with an audacious long-range shot which fizzed past the helpless Arlauskis and into the back of the net. But Unirea were celebrating with just two minutes to go when Onofras rifled into the top corner.
UNIREA URZICENI: Arlauskis, Brandan, Maftei, Galamaz, Bordeanu, Apostol, Gomes (Paduretu 81), Balan (Onofras 30), Varga (Semedo 81), Bilasco, Frunza. Subs not used: Tudor, Mehmedovic, Paraschiv, Nicu. Booked: Bilasco. Goal: Onofras 88.
RANGERS: McGregor, Whittaker, Wilson, Weir, Papac, Naismith, Davis, McCulloch, Thomson (Fleck 85), Lafferty, Miller (Novo 81). Subs not used: Alexander, Boyd, Rothen, Beasley, Smith. Booked: Lafferty, Wilson. Goal: McCulloch 78.
Referee: Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark).
