LAST night's match organisers had the novel idea of getting mascots to line up in tactical formation just before the teams took to the pitch.
This was meant to be a living guide to spectators, live and on TV alike, about the shape the sides would take, which would have been fine, only for some strange reason the kid playing Steven Whittaker lined up alongside Jean-Claude Darcheville in
a Rangers 4-4-2. In the game itself, Whittaker was on occasion the most advanced midfielder, but the reality was that Walter Smith's team were again playing the 4-5-1 which had served them so well thus far in the Uefa Cup.
Given the merit of their defence, and the gritty manner in which they had played to upset the odds in previous rounds, Rangers' approach to the game came as no surprise. Never mind the taunts about 'anti-football', you are entitled to play to whatever your strengths are, and in the Scottish club's case that meant keeping it tight and hoping to frustrate their opponents.
Zenit St Petersburg's attacking prowess was evident in the way they tore Bayern Munich apart with four goals in the second leg of their semi-final. Rangers knew the last thing they could afford to do was allow their Russian opponents the space in which to show off their ability, so closing the game down was the order of the evening for Smith's team. Doing so successfully depended on the back four and the midfield alike all showing maximum concentration, and the strategy was almost undone in the fifth minute when Brahim Hemdani conceded possession and allowed Konstantin Zyrianov to set up a chance from which Andrei Arshavin shot narrowly wide.
Zenit were playing in an attack-minded 4-3-3 formation, which could quickly adapt to 4-5-1 as the occasion demanded. Gifted enough not to bother with over-elaborate tactical plans, they deftly changed the pace of the game, believing their innate ability would carve an opening for them sooner or later.
Fiorentina had done the same in the semi-final, and had paid for that apparently unshakeable self-belief when Rangers held them to a scoreless draw then won the tie on penalties, but Zenit were playing with far more speed and purpose than the Italians had displayed.
They appeared intent on winning the game in 90 minutes, and enjoyed the bulk of the possession in the opening 45.
By midway through the first half, the Zenit supporters had begun to whistle Rangers' slow build-up.
The aim of the cautious approach seemed to be that the frustration shown by the Russian supporters would spread to their team, and indiscipline would creep in.
In the second half, however, Rangers changed their approach, opening up their game and establishing attacks more quickly. Such an approach was more likely to create scoring opportunities, but also left more space for Zenit to exploit. And they duly did just that in the final 18 minutes.
The full article contains 514 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
