Rangers Back on Track after Resounding win over Plzen

Rangers 3-0 Viktoria Plzen Gassama (15′ 51′) Dessers (45′ pen) Rangers took a huge step towards the Champions League Play-off round after a 3-0 victory in the 3rd round 1st leg against Viktoria Plzen. Demanding a response after an opening-day draw against Motherwell, Russell Martin made four changes to his team. He dropped club captain James Tavernier and Nico Raskin to the bench, while bringing in last year’s top goalscorer Cyriel Dessers and new signing Oliver Antman. Martin also rewarded Lyall Cameron with his first European start after singling out the former Dundee midfielder’s efforts off the bench on Saturday. Coming off a thrilling 2-0 comeback win against Swiss side Servette last week, the visitors had the first real chance of the game. Memic found space on the right and delivered a cross, but last week’s hero, Durosinmi, couldn’t direct his shot on target. However, it was Rangers who took the lead with a clever move in the 14th minute. Gassama played a sharp pass to Dessers, who immediately returned it with a delicate through ball. The winger then skillfully curled his shot past Wiegele, netting his third European goal of the campaign. The goal brought Ibrox to life after a quiet start. Despite going behind, the Czech side looked threatening. Memic once again found room on the right, but his drilled pass intended for captain Matej Vydra was well blocked by Djida. Rangers quickly countered, with Lyall Cameron picking out Gassama on the left. The winger’s pass found new signing Oliver Antman, but his shot was blocked right on the line. Manager Russell Martin, who had been critical of his team’s performance on Saturday, would have been delighted with his side’s attacking football. Although Plzen enjoyed a brief spell of pressure, the home side consistently created the better scoring opportunities. Rangers’ good play was rewarded on the stroke of halftime. Gassama released Oliver Antman into the box, and after being fouled, Cyriel Dessers calmly slotted the resulting penalty past the towering 6-foot-9 Wiegele, sending Rangers into the break with a commanding lead. The fulltime whistle on Saturday evening was met with rousing boos from the Rangers faithful; tonight was a stark contrast. The second half began with the home side picking up right where they left off. Cyriel Dessers linked up with Diomande, whose curling left-footed strike from the edge of the box narrowly clipped the top of the crossbar. Just minutes later, Rangers found their third goal with another efficient attack. The electric Oliver Antman burst down the right and delivered a perfect cross for Gassama, who glanced in for his second goal of the night. After the hour mark, Plzen began to show signs of life. Sloncik came close with a shot from the edge of the box, but it sailed just over the bar. Despite the visitors’ late pressure, Rangers maintained control. Standout performances were plentiful for the home side. Both Dessers and Lyall Cameron had exceptional games and were deservedly given a rousing ovation as they were substituted in the 73rd minute. Hoping to replicate their success in Scotland from last year—when they beat Hearts in a Europa League playoff—Viktoria Plzen fought to find a consolation goal. Memic fired a powerful 35-yard shot, but it was straight at Jack Butland. In the final minutes, Sloncik’s whipped free-kick sailed just over the crossbar. As the final whistle blew, a palpable sense of optimism filled Ibrox. This was a clinical and much-improved performance from Russell Martin’s men. They appear well on their way to the Champions League play-off round but will first travel to Czechia next Tuesday for the return leg.   Rangers: Butland, Aarons (Barron 74′), Souttar, Djida, Jefte, Rothwell (Raskin 64′), Cameron (Tavernier 74′), Diomande, Antman (Curtis 85′), Gassama Dessers (Danilo 74′) Bookings: Raskin 31’ Jefte 41’ Raskin 64’ Viktoria Plzen: Wiegele, Dweh, Markovic, Jemelka, Memic, Panos (Valenta 46’), Cerv, Ladra (Visinsky 56’), Spacil (Doski 87′), Vydra (Sloncik 57’), Durosinmi (Adu 65’) Bookings: Markovic 19’ Valenta 87′

SPFL Weekly – Matchday 1: Five Talking Points

Russell Martin blows his top after a lacklustre showing, Luke McCowan spares blunt Celtic with late heroics, and Derek McInnes’ Jambos breezed into pole position for title challenge. Kieron Bowie was the Starman at Den’s Park, and it was a level start on opening day for promoted sides. We’re back! Here’s our round-up of the big talking points from Matchday 1 in the 2025/26 SPFL season. Martin Fires Warning Shot The post-match talk to the press is rarely more explosive than the game. Yet the new man in the dugout, Russell Martin, let rip in his Sky Sports interview after their opening SPFL game at Fir Park, criticising the mentality of his squad. He accused some of his Teddy Bears of ‘reverting to type’ and needing to ‘drop their egos’. An impressive second-half performance from Motherwell saw Emmanuel Longelo’s powerful strike cancel out James Tavernier’s first-half header in the 1-1 draw. The Lanarkshire side could have won, too, with Jack Butland denying Tom Sparrow, who scored their winner at Ibrox in March, in the game’s dying moments. Martin admitted that his ex-Norwich teammate’s side, Jens Berthel Askou, who joined Motherwell in the summer as Head Coach, was ‘braver’ and more ‘aggressive’ than his side and was lucky to get a point. Their supporters booed off the Glasgow side at full-time, echoing déjà vu from last season. The Brighton man, who played for Rangers on loan in 2018, delivered similar criticism in context to Barry Ferguson’s comments last season. Although Martin said it was ‘not an attack on anyone personally’ ahead of tonight’s Champions League qualifier against Viktoria Plzen at Ibrox, he will need to be careful not to alienate his squad. They overcame Panathinaikos over two legs in the previous round of European qualifiers. However, the less-than-convincing performances and players playing out of position have baffled supporters. He said some players must ‘drop their ego’, but perhaps he should be the one to compromise on his tactics and do so willingly if he wants to succeed in Glasgow. He told Sky Sports: “We need to work out who really wants to be all in and who doesn’t.” Martin has been busy in the transfer window, with the recent arrival of Finnish international Oliver Antman, who arrives from Go Ahead Eagles in a £4m deal, pushing the total to nine signings. The gaffer will hope Antman doesn’t shrink under pressure but grows into a giant in attack. Loyal servant and club captain James Tavernier, who has been at the club for ten years, has been an ever-present in this so-called egotistical environment. Still, question marks remain about his ability to instil a positive culture. Maybe Martin, Tavernier, fresh faces, and player exits can finally push the club in a new direction. Rodgers Needs Firepower After McCowan Bailout Luke McCowan saved Celtic’s blushes with a deflected strike in the last ten minutes of the game against a stubborn St Mirren side at Celtic Park. It was hard to say what was less surprising: Stephen Robinson’s men, unbeaten in last season’s top-six split and fresh off a third consecutive top-half finish, proving they are no pushovers, or McCowan coming off the bench and positively changing the game for the Hoops. The Bhoys started with a party. A rousing rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone rang out, Kris Boyd pleading for Scott Brown to keep talking on Sky Sports so he doesn’t have to hear it. Lisbon Lion John Clark, who passed away in the summer, had a tifo unveiled in his memory. And the club welcomed back 90s legend Paul McStay before he unfurled the league champions’ flag at Celtic Park. Unfortunately, that’s where the shindig faded. The home side struck the woodwork four times and saw a Callum McGregor second-half strike correctly ruled out for handball. It wasn’t until McCowan’s 12-minute cameo that the game came to life. The 27-year-old brought energy and the decisive flourish that Benjamin Nygren and the front three of Yang, Adam Idah, and Daezen Maeda lacked. He had a similar role last year, coming on as a substitute 17 times for Celtic in the league, scoring six goals and assisting seven times for his boyhood club. The narrow 1–0 win means the reigning champions have now won their opening league fixture in 17 of the last 18 seasons. It has been a successful period for the club, but Brendan Rodgers will only continue at Celtic beyond his contract, which expires at the end of the season, if the club continues to develop on and off the park. Rodgers wants attacking reinforcements, but Yang is less than convincing. James Forrest is ageing, and the injured Jota is not expected to return until the new year. Adam Idah continues to blow cold, and Jonjoe Kenny and new signing Shin Yamada are both untested in the league. On BBC’s Sportscene, ex-Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew says the club needs two wingers and a striker, which is a fair assessment based on the manager’s recent comments. Hearts Weather the Wind and Bloom into Title Contenders The Jambos were back in league action after cruising in their League Cup campaign the past few weeks. Even Storm Floris caused chaos across Edinburgh, with Fringe shows cancelled, train services halted, and even the Military Tattoo called off. Still, it couldn’t disrupt Derek McInnes’ men with a 2-0 win over Aberdeen. They had no sympathy for the 650 Aberdeen fans attempting the journey south, or for Dons’ captain Graeme Shinnie, who put the ball into the back of his net in the early stages of the game from a Harry Milne cross. Jambos’ summer signing Stuart Findlay finished the scoring with a brave header past an onrushing Dimitar Mitov. Lawrence Shankland thought he had doubled their advantage in the first half with a wonder strike, which was disallowed for offside in the build-up. Managing his first league game for Hearts against a former club, Derek McInnes told Sky Sports afterwards that “we gave everything.” They will

Aberdeen Freeze in Tynecastle Cauldron as Hearts Top Table With Victory

There were chants of ‘we shall not be moved’ at Tynecastle Park as hosts Hearts moved up to first place in the table, as the Jambos faithful created a raucous atmosphere as they watched their side defeat Scottish Cup holders Aberdeen 2-0. Both sides were able to round off the first week of Premiership action, amid fears of a potential postponement due to an amber level weather warning of severe wind. Hearts came into this one the sharpest of the two sides, having played four Premier Sports Cup matches prior to this, winning all four, and scoring four in each. Not to mention defeating Premier League opposition in Sunderland 3-0 also, in a testimonial for club legend Craig Gordon. Aberdeen were away from in the opening Monday night fixture for the second consecutive season after they beat St Johnstone 2-1 this time last year, but the side from the North East were unable to replicate the same kind of result which kickstarted their memorable unbeaten run at the start of last season. Hearts would take the lead in the 11th minute, courtesy of Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie, who had been receiving the pantomime villain treatment from the home support up until this point. A Harry Milne cross hit off the Dons’ skipper last before hitting the net, which all started from Claudio Braga driving down the right hand side to make it all happen, and when his cross led to a Cammy Devlin strike deflecting out to Milne, he zipped a ball across to help put the Maroon side ahead. Milne almost doubled the lead three minutes later, when his strike surprised all of Tynecastle when it hit the bar. Aberdeen would hit the woodwork themselves just a minute later, when Nicolas Milanovic’s cross hit off the leg of Kusini Yengi and tumbled onto the post left of Zander Clark. Hearts thought they had doubled their lead just on the stroke of half time, this time through their captain, Lawrence Shankland, who found the top left corner with a fantastic curling strike outside the box. However, after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled out for an offside in the build up, giving the Gorgie side a one goal advantage to defend going into the second period. There was a clear momentum shift to be seen from the beginning of the second half, which seen Aberdeen create many opportunities and enjoy large spells of possession in the Hearts half. No opportunity came better than Kusini Yengi’s five minutes after the restart, with the Australian getting onto the end of a deep curling Leighton Clarkson free kick from around six yards out. His effort, however, bounced wide of the goal on what was the striker’s competitive debut for the Dons. Hearts weathered a red coloured storm for the first two thirds of the second half, before coming alive again and doubling their advantage. Harry Milne lifts a free kick in from a narrow position which was failed to be cleared by Aberdeen’s Mats Knoester, allowing Scotland international Stuart Findlay to capitalise and beat Mitov in the Aberdeen net in the air to give Hearts a two goal cushion and net his second of the season already. There was another worryingly long VAR check for a potential offside put hearts in mouths around Tynecastle, but groans quickly turned into cheers of delight when referee Nick Walsh pointed to the centre circle. This result continues Derek McInnes’ 100% record as Hearts manager following his appointment at the end of last season, as his side look to make it ten competitive victories in a row when they travel to Tannadice to face Dundee United this Sunday afternoon. For Jimmy Thelin and his men, they face the easy task of hosting the champions Celtic at Pittodrie in the Sunday lunchtime fixture, with Brendan Rodgers’ side looking to avenge their Scottish Cup Final loss and make it two wins out of two for the campaign. Hearts: Clark, Kent (Steinweinder, 70′), Hackett, Shankland (Magnusson, 90′), Braga (Wilson, 71′), Borchgrevnik (Forrest, 70′), Devlin, Spittal (Kyziridis, 70′) , Milne, Findlay (Goal, 73′), McEntee Bookings: Kent (19′), Hackett (54′), Devlin (61′) Aberdeen: Mitov, Shinnie (OG, 11′, Devlin 81′), Knoester, Nilsen (Morris, 69′), Aouchiche, Yengi (Boyd, 62′) Clarkson, Milanovic (Sokler, 81′) , Milne, Jensen, Keskinen (Polvara, 62′) Bookings: Aouchiche (60′), Milanovic (78′)