Rangers earned an excellent 1-0 win against NK Osijek in Croatia.
Steven Gerrard handed Ryan Kent his debut for Rangers on Thursday night as they earned a superb 1-0 win away in Croatia against NK Osijek, but Kent told the club’s official website he was not happy with parts of his performance.
The Gers held onto a 1-0 win, with the goal coming from a well-worked short corner that saw James Tavernier deliver an inch-perfect cross to Alfredo Morelos, who expelled the doubters with an excellent header.
Allan McGregor was called on to make a few saves, while the new-look defence of Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic and Jon Flanagan were tested at times. But Rangers are yet to concede competitively under Gerrard.
Signed from Liverpool on a season-long loan and only in the side as a Europa League wildcard for the tie, Kent impressed any on his debut but was disappointed at times with his own efforts.
“It’s a great feeling to make my debut for Rangers,” Kent said. “I think I can build on that performance today, there were moments in the game that I was not happy with, but some I was happy with.
“But it was my first 90 minutes in a while, so I’ve got that out of the way now, and hopefully I can build on that.”
Kent won the corner that led to the goal, as he controlled a long ball exquisitely before cutting inside from the left flank and having a goal-bound effort blocked by one of the Osijek defenders.
Rangers are next in action against Osijek in the second round of the Europa League tie next Thursday at Ibrox, as they look to hold onto their lead and meet either Slovenian outfit NK Maribor or Georgian side Chikhura Sachkere.
They drew 0-0 in their first leg in Georgia on Thursday night, and the Gers will face either one of those sides in the third round of qualifying. Rangers also begin their Scottish Premiership campaign next weekend, travelling to Aberdeen.
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