ian1964 10,720 Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 WALTER SMITH has praised his fantastic players after Rangers progressed through to the semi-final stage of a European competition for the first-time in 36 years against Sporting Lisbon tonight. Kirk Broadfoot celebrates with DarchevilleTerrific second-half strikes from Jean-Claude Darcheville and Steven Whittaker secured a hugely memorable victory in the Portuguese capital. The Light Blues thoroughly deserved their win and the gaffer was understandably beaming with pride after the final whistle in the Jose Alvalade Stadium. He said: "It is a terrific achievement for us to be in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. "I thought we played extremely well tonight, especially in the second-half. "In the first we were a bit disappointed as our final ball let us down a few times which was a bit frustrating. "But I was delighted with the way we performed after half-time and the goals were terrific. "The first was a great move involving Jean-Claude and Steven (Davis) and the second was excellent work from Steven Whittaker. Walter Smith instructs his team in Lisbon "When he picked the ball up it looked as though he was going to feed in Daniel but he kept going and showed brilliant composure to score. "That was a bit of icing on the cake for us and I am so proud of the players. "They have worked ever so hard and when you consider that after the Fiorentina games we will have played 18 games in Europe, that underlines the effort they have put in. "They are a great bunch of boys and it is a pleasure to be working with them." Serie A giants Fiorentina now lie in wait for the Gers in the semis and the club's Chief Scout Ewan Chester watched the club's opponents tonight against PSV. He said: "Ewan was in Eindhoven to watch Fiorentina in action so we will get the full run down from him. "We don't know a great deal about them but we will get the full run down by David Moyes at Everton. "At the end of the day we are just delighted to be in the semi-final as it raises the profile of our club. "It is the first time we have been in this position for a long time and we are just delighted to be there." 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 847 Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 He just needs to get it right once more against Fiorentina!. Loved his celebration with KM last night. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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