Rangers net away goal but suffer last-minute defeat
Rangers manager Ally McCoist had to defend his decision to replace Steven Naismith with Kyle Lafferty at half-time, admitting he withdrew Naismith from the match because he feared he would pick up a red card. Lafferty made his first appearance of the season after a hernia operation.
Steven Whittaker and Madjid Bougherra both saw red in the Champions League qualifying exit to Malmo and McCoist says he was keen to avoid a repeat. He said: "It was to keep him on the park. I thought there was a distinct chance that Naismith could have been sent off.
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Hide Ad"We did have one or two options but Lafferty has looked good in training and was keen to get back playing.
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"Towards the end of last season he was one of the key players. It's still early for him and he will come good." Despite the defeat - thanks to that injury-time winner for the home side - McCoist is confident of booking a place in the group stages.
He said: "I would like to congratulate Maribor on their win tonight, although we were very disappointed.
"We felt we were comfortable at half-time. It was an open game and, hopefully, the second leg will be open too and we can take our chances.
"We created a good number of goalscoring opportunities in the first half. I'm very disappointed but hopeful we've got enough to win the tie and go through at home." Juan Manuel Ortiz fired