FBK Kaunas 2 Rangers 1: Rangers count £10m cost of catastrophic night in Kaunas

(REUTERS)

Rangers were sent crashing out of Europe when they conceded a late winner to the Lithuanian side FBK Kaunas in their make-or-break Champions League qualifier here last night.

The defeat means the Glasgow side, who reached the Uefa Cup final last season, are out of Europe and will miss out on £10m, which they would have been guaranteed had they qualified for the first stage proper of the competition.

The Rangers manager, Walter Smith, admitted the defeat was terrible news for the cash-strapped club. "It's a blow in every aspect, including the financial side and everything that comes with it," he said. "We just have to face it and get on with it. We have a job on our hands to pick everyone up. There was always a hope that we could pick ourselves up for this game and there was also a matter of pride of playing in Europe again. We enjoyed the run we had last season but we are not going to get one this season and that's a disappointment for us."

The first leg at Ibrox had ended goalless last week but Rangers looked set to progress on away goals when Kevin Thomson netted in the first half, despite Nerijus Radzius levelling for the hosts.

But Walter Smith's men suffered a last-gasp sucker punch as a Linas Pilibaitis goal clinched the win the Lithuanians needed to set up a third-round qualifying meeting, likely to be with the Danish side Aalborg.

Smith reverted to the formation he favoured in Europe last year, with the role of lone striker going to the summer signing Kenny Miller. A steady downpour all day meant the game was played in difficult conditions for both sets of players.

Rangers threatenedwhen Christian Dailly released Miller through on goal but the striker hooked over the crossbar. At the other end Rafael Ledesma forced a decent save from goalkeeper Allan McGregor from a free-kick.

Rangers continued to push forward and a blunder from Mindaugas Baguzis almost gifted them the opener, when his poor attempt at a headed pass-back to Marian Kello trickled narrowly past the goalkeeper's left-hand post.

The breakthrough came after 33 minutes and it was the visitors who surged into the lead when Thomson pounced on a Nacho Novo pass and slipped the ball through Kello's legs.

Kaunas's Radzius bought the scores to a level two minutes before the break with a free-kick from 30 yards.

Kaunas knew they needed a second goal and Pilibaitis was not too far away after the restart with an effort, before Marius Cinikas saw his powerful shot crash off the crossbar and out of play.

With the final whistle beckoning, McGregor was called into action again, this time to smother from the Kaunas substitute Bojan Mamic. But he was forced to pluck the ball out of the back of the net with just three minutes to go when Pilibaitis snatched victory with a close-range header after Rangers made a mess of defending a corner from the left.

FBK Kaunas: Kello; Radzius, Mendy, Luksa, Baguzis, Mrowiec, Pilibaitis, Manchkhava, Zelmikas, Ledesma, Cinikas. Substitutes: Dreer, Grigalevicius, Zubavicius, Kunevicius, Rimkevicius, Miklinevicius, Mamic.

Rangers: McGregor;, Broadfoot, Weir, Papac, Whittaker, Novo, McCulloch, Dailly, Thomson, Adam, Miller. Substitutes: Alexander, Darcheville, Lafferty, Webster, Boyd, Hemdani, Velicka.

Referee: S Johannesson (Sweden)