Rangers 2-0 Maccabi Haifa
Rangers defied domestic form again in the Uefa Cup with a deserved victory over Maccabi Haifa as the Glasgow side went clear at the top of Group A.
Nacho Novo broke clear after only five minutes to gather a Kris Boyd flick and his low drive deflected off Alon Harazi and past goalkeeper Nir Davidovitch.
A Boyd penalty was saved by the goalkeeper immediately after the break.
And he turned a Barry Ferguson drive against the post before before being beaten by a Charlie Adam spot kick.
Rangers had been forced to make a late change to their starting line-up after Lionel Letizi suffered a back injury during the warm-up.
Allan McGregor's return to the side meant it was all-change at the heart of defence.
Julien Rodriguez dropped to the bench, while Sasa Papac was cup-tied.
So Brahim Hemdani dropped back to partner Karl Svensson, while Jeremy Clement returned to midfield and Dado Prso replaced Thomas Buffel up front.
Rangers' re-worked defence were under immediate pressure when Xavier Anderson just failed to get enough on his header from seven yards following a Gustavo Boccoli cross.
But the Glasgow side soon found their feet and took the lead when Kris Boyd headed on a long ball out of defence from Allan Hutton.
Novo sped clear and his low drive deflected off Harazi and wide of Davidovitch.
Rangers were now on top and Davidovitch was forced to turn a looping Boyd header over the crossbar.
Novo fired into the side netting from a tight angle after the goalkeeper had flapped at a high ball under pressure from Prso.
But Haifa worked their way into the game and Boccoli fired straight at McGregor from 12 yards following one of their trademark quick breaks.
Barry Ferguson finished the first half in pain with what appeared to be a rib injury.
But, although Gavin Rae warmed up during the break, Rangers' captain started the second 45 and was immediately involved in a fine passing move that led to the award of a penalty kick.
Prso had appeared to be fairly tackled by Harazi and justice was done when Davidovitch stretched out one hand to block Boyd's poorly-struck spot kick.
The goalkeeper came to Haifa's rescue again by turning Ferguson's powerful drive from the edge of the box on to the outside of the post.
Skilful Haifa looked dangerous throughout without troubling McGregor until the goalkeeper did well to palm clear a ferocious drive from Maor Melikson from 12 yards after 72 minutes.
The match was held up for several minutes by a one-man protest against the Israeli regime.
But Rangers' momentum was not disturbed and they wrapped up the points when Ferguson was felled in the box and Adam made no mistake from the penalty spot.
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Rangers: McGregor, Hutton, Hemdani, Svensson, Smith, Novo, Ferguson, Clement, Adam, Prso, Kris Boyd. Subs: Letizi, Buffel, Rae, Bardsley, Sebo, Rodriguez, N'Diaye.
Maccabi Haifa: Davidovitch, Harazi, Keinan, Olarra, Magralishvili, Xavier, Anderson, Boccoli, Katan, Masudi, Colautti. Subs: Al Madon, Swan, Arbaitman, Melikson, Meshumar, Gazal, Keisi.
Referee: Costas Kapitanis (Cyprus)
