Rangers manager Steven Gerrard reckons it was a wise decision to recall Allan McGregor as the veteran stopper put on a masterclass in shot-stopping against Willem II.
The 38-year-old has had to play second fiddle to Jon McLaughlin while the summer signing helped Gers become the first British team to start a domestic campaign with seven straight clean sheets.
But he was back in between the posts for the Light Blues’ Europa League clash with Williem II and pulled off a string of saves as Gerrard’s team claimed a crushing 4-0 win to set up a play-off showdown with Galatasaray.
He spilled an early Mike Tresor strike and was grateful to see Greek ace Vangelis Pavlidis crash the rebound off the bar.
But there was no doubting the quality of the three saves he produced after that to hand Gerrard another shut-out.
“Listen it’s no surprise,” the Ibrox boss told RangersTV. “It’s the reason why I picked him. I knew that at times against this team we would maybe be in one-v-one situations and need him to make big stops.
“We certainly got that decision right. Allan deserves the credit, it was a superb showing.”
James Tavernier stroked home his 50th goal for the club after being restored to penalty duties, while Ryan Kent – who won the spot-kick – scored and then teed up Felip Helander for the third.
Connor Goldson rounded off a crushing win to leave the Light Blues just 90 minutes away from reaching the group stage for the third year running.
Gerrard added in the Daily Record: “I’m not sure comfortable is the right word but I am very happy with the scoreline and to win 4-0 and get a clean sheet.
“Four different scorers, three from set pieces and one from open play so we are obviously very pleased.
“But we have beaten a good team, they were dangerous and they caused us some problems in the first half.
“It could easily have been a different scoreline at half-time. I didn’t think our defensive organisation was carried out very well in the first half but we managed to solve that at half-time and we were much better, much more solid in the second half. Credit to the boys, it is a fantastic away win from a tough, tough fixture for us.”
