Adam helps Gers sink Stuttgart

12 April 2012

Charlie Adam helped Rangers claim a 2-1 win in their Champions League group F opener against Stuttgart, while making a point of his own to manager Walter Smith.

The midfielder paid the price for a poor performance in a qualifier against FK Zeta back in July and his involvement since then had been limited to a cameo role in the return leg in Montenegro.

He was thrown back into the top team at Ibrox and made the most of the opportunity by cancelling out Mario Gomez's opener before Jean-Claude Darcheville secured the win from the penalty spot.

It was Rangers who were under pressure in the opening minutes when Roberto Hilbert tried to pick out Gomez with a dangerous cross from the right. Carlos Cuellar intercepted but his clearance smacked off the post on the way out of play as nerves around the stadium jangled.

Rangers gradually began to grow in confidence and Adam tried his luck with an ambitious half-volley from 35 yards, which fell just over the crossbar.

The best chance of the game then fell to Darcheville, who looked certain to open the scoring. He charged into the box, shrugging off the defenders bearing down on him from either side, only for Raphael Schafer to somehow keep his point-blank shot out of the net.

There was concern for Rangers when Barry Ferguson suffered a head knock and was forced out of the action for almost five minutes to receive treatment, during which time Stuttgart took advantage of their extra man and surged into the lead after 56 minutes.

Sami Khedira's pass may have initially been intended for Cacau but he remained static, while Gomez made the run before flicking past Allan McGregor into the back of the net.

Undeterred, Rangers were back on level terms seven minutes later. Alan Hutton's superb run took him past four red shirts before setting up Adam, who gleefully lashed past the helpless Schafer.

Rangers were then gifted the lead when Italian referee Stefano Farina pointed to the spot after a clumsy challenge from Stuttgart skipper Fernando Meira on Alan Hutton. Darcheville stepped up to blast past Schafer from 12 yards with 74 minutes gone and Ibrox erupted as Rangers secured a crucial victory on match day one.

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