ian1964 10,595 Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 RANGERS have stormed to victory at the prestigious Eurofan tournament in Ukraine, going through the event unbeaten in six games to lift the trophy. The Light Blues, represented by a squad of club staff members and supporters, beat local side Karpaty 4-1 in the final in Lviv. Some of the players who will represent Rangers at the Eurofan tournament in UkraineTheir win capped a fine three days at the 16-team competition, in which they scored 27 times and conceded just four goals. After a 4-1 success against fans of Dutch outfit Heerenveen and a 10-0 thrashing of an equivalent team from Wales on Friday, Gers made sure of their place in the last eight. Needing just a point from their meeting with Polish side Ostrovio yesterday morning to confirm a pool win, they got it when David Matthews levelled to secure a 1-1 draw. Having topped Group C, the Scots then went on to play Croatia in the quarter-finals and did what was necessary to progress again. Robert Godfrey grabbed his second goal of the tournament to give Rangers a lead and although the Croats equalised, Godfrey restored the lead with an 18-yard curler. Erald Krasniqi then made it 3-1 after the break as the Ibrox men ran out comfortable winners. Awaiting them in the semis were Inter Milan and once more Gers were dominant from start to finish. EurofanGary McGonnell grabbed a brilliant opener after he made a mazy run from his own half to score and Krasniqi doubled the advantage early in the second period. McGonnell soon made it three before Neil Smith got his name on the scoresheet as the Light Blues moved into cruise control. Inter pulled a late consolation back but they still couldn't have the last word, with Ian Danby finding the net to make it 5-1 at the death. Home side Karpaty were well backed in the final and with plenty of locals cheering them on, it seemed to be in the script that they would win. But Rangers had other ideas and were three up at the midway point through a Krasniqi penalty and McGonnell's brace. The hosts tried to make a game of it again as they reduced their deficit early in the second half but Danby struck to seal glory for the away side. Colin Atkinson from the club's Football in the Community department has run the team over the weekend with coach Ian Clark and he was thrilled to come out on top. He said: "We are delighted to win the tournament, especially as it is the first time we have participated in the event. Some of the players who took part in Eurofan 2008"It was great to see Rangers fans representing themselves and the club so well both on and off the pitch in front of supporters of teams from across Europe. "There were some great individual performances in the squad and Erald did particularly well as the top scorer in the squad with seven goals. "Gary and David were right behind him with six and five respectively and now we look forward to setting about retaining the trophy at Eurofan 2010." The win was particularly satisfying for five members of the squad, who are attached to the 45 Commando Royal Marines and all support the club. Danby, McGonnall, Clark, Karl Neave and Scott Nicholson left their forces colleagues after returning to Britain recently to join the group in Ukraine. And having served on the front line in Afghanistan earlier this year, winning was a real high for them after some testing times over the past few months. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tannochsidebear 2,352 Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Congrats to the team. Another fine ambassadorial outing for the Rangers, great positive PR, and I am sure will get very little or no mention in our papers today. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I find it incredible that we have fans who are good enough at playing to beat teams full of Italians and Croatians etc. Well done guys! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,295 Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Well done the the lads! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJBlue72 0 Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Well done to the guys , More Euro Glory for the Bears 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Well done to the guys , More Euro Glory for the Bears If it was Aberdeen they'd have another star on their jersey. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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