Gallant Rangers reach final on penalties

FLORENCE, Italy -- Gallant Rangers reached the UEFA Cup final after a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Fiorentina in their semi-final second leg, after 240 minutes of football over two matches failed to produce a single goal.

After Rangers captain Barry Ferguson and home midfielder Fabio Liverani had seen their efforts saved, veteran striker Christian Vieri blasted his penalty miles over the bar leaving Nacho Novo to slot home and give Rangers a 4-2 win.

It was perhaps rough justice on the home side, who enjoyed the majority of possession over both 0-0 legs.

Russians Zenit St Petersburg await in the final at the City of Manchester stadium on May 14 after they thrashed Bayern Munich 4-0 for a 5-1 aggregate victory.

The final will also see Zenit's Dutch coach Dick Advocaat face his former side, after a successful period in charge of them earlier in the decade.

Rangers set their stall out early to defend in numbers, and they did so effectively, while Fiorentina had neither the guile nor the explosiveness to break them down.

More than 20 minutes had passed before the hosts managed a couple of shots on goal but neither Riccardo Montolivo nor Adrian Mutu could trouble Neil Alexander in the Rangers goal.

Fiorentina then fashioned a chance from a clever free-kick routine but Mutu's shot was blocked by veteran defender David Weir, who passed a late fitness test to take his place in the side.

Fiorentina stepped up the pressure after the break, possibly following a telling-off from coach Cesare Prandelli. On 52 minutes, the hosts finally created something dangerous as Giampaolo Pazzini nipped in front of his marker to meet Mutu's left wing cross but the young striker volleyed just wide.

Fiorentina started turning the screw and on the hour mark, Czech captain Tomas Ujfalusi thrashed a volley just over the bar from Serbian substitute Zdravko Kuzmanovic's cross.

The hosts came close again as Alexander spilled a 25-meter strike from Mutu but the goalkeeper gathered it again just before Pazzini could pounce.

The entire second half was being played out in Rangers' half with La Viola's French goalkeeper Sebastien Frey basically a spectator.

He finally had a shot to save when Steven Davis got on the end of a long ball forward, but his poke failed to trouble Frey.

Prandelli threw on Vieri for Pazzini for the last 10 minutes and he almost had an immediate impact, but he could not turn home Alessandro Gamberini's header.

Rangers had a rare chance when Steven Whittaker robbed Massimo Gobbi but Frey was equal to his curling far post effort and substitute Novo's follow-up was blocked.

A couple of minutes into extra time Vieri produced a flash of his old self as he strode onto a through ball only to drag his shot just wide.

Rangers then went closest through French forward Daniel Cousin, when his deflected shot looped just over the bar with Frey beaten.

Cousin didn't last much longer as he was sent off in the second half of extra-time after putting his head onto Liverani's. The Italian's reaction was exaggerated but Cousin had already been booked for a flailing arm and a second yellow card saw him dimissed.

Even with 10-men Rangers came close late on but Frey clawed the ball away from goal after it had bounced off Novo.

Then, with almost the last kick of the game, Vieri volleyed into the side-netting from close-range.

The result sees Rangers still on course for a remarkable quadruple of trophies and keeps up their 100 per cent record in shoot-outs this season.

They have already won the Scottish League Cup on penalties and are in the Scottish FA Cup final against minnows Queen Of The South after reaching that final also on penalties.

The Ibrox club are also in pole position to win the Scottish Premier League title, lying five points behind rivals Celtic with three games in hand.

Rangers have only lifted a single European trophy in their history, capturing the Cup Winners' Cup in 1972.

"It's the third lot of penalties we've had this season and we've managed to win them all -- it's a magnificent achievement, said Rangers manager Walter Smith.

"We were hanging on a bit though tonight. Credit Fiorentina, they put us under a great deal of pressure, but I can't ask more of the boys -- they defended fantastically." E-mail to a friend