Caniggia finishes off Maribor

Maribor took a shock lead in the first half

Rangers 3-1 NK Maribor

Rangers completed the formality of progressing to the Champions League third qualifying round at Ibrox, but they made heavy weather of it for 55 minutes.

A 3-0 first-leg win hinted at a straight-forward second leg, but an early goal from Maribor and some slack play by the home side changed the atmosphere.

A change in attitude and in tactics in the second half settled Rangers and three goals put the result beyond doubt.

Manager Dick Advocaat told BBC Scotland afterwards that his players had been told at half-time that such a lack of commitment would not be tolerated.

"Even against a team like Maribor, you cannot afford to play without commitment," said the Dutchman.

Flo celebrates Rangers' equaliser

"But in the second half we were much better."

A similar performance against Fenerbahce in the next round will be severely punished.

The goals when they came were worth waiting for.

The equaliser was crafted in 55 minutes by the twinkling toes of Neil McCann and Claudio Caniggia.

The pair combined to superb effect down the Rangers left and McCann's pass across the face of the goal was turned in to the net by the grateful Tore Andre Flo.

Four minutes later, Rangers had the lead.

Fernando Ricksen slipped the ball through to Stephen Hughes and though his effort was parried by goalkeeper Simeunovic, Caniggia was on hand to turn the ball into the net.

Claudio Caniggia was on hand with a double

Ricksen was also involved in the third goal. His pass into the feet of Flo was flicked on to Caniggia who gave Simeunovic no chance with a ferocious shot at the near post.

Maribor had looked a far more threatening outfit in the first half than they had in the first leg.

Their goal came in 17 minutes after a blunder by Bert Konterman. He missed his pass and allowed Vanja Starcevic a free run on goal and his shot was perfectly placed low to Stefan Klos' right.

Rangers also threatened in the first half - Hughes, Christian Nerlinger and Russell Latapy all came close, the latter hitting the bar with a crashing shot.

But Klos prevented them from going 2-0 down with a fabulous save from Balajic.

The introduction of McCann for Nerlinger and Scott Wilson for Latapy proved crucial, with McCann's trickery on the wing turning the game and Wilson's appearance allowing Konterman to step up to solidify the midfield.

---

Rangers: Klos, Ricksen, Moore, Konterman, Vidmar, Hughes, Ferguson, Nerlinger, Latapy, Flo, Caniggia. Subs: Mols, McCann, Dodds, Kanchelskis, Wilson, Christiansen, Miller.

NK Maribor: Simeunovic, Duro, Krizan, Seslar, Kvas, Filekovic, Znurderl, Balajic, Starcevic, Snofl, Vuksanovic. Subs: Murko, Golob, Dvorsak, Ihtijarevic, Pitamic, Plosnik, Sarkezi.

Referee: J Monteiro (Portugal)