Ryan Naderi’s second-half strike gave an unconvincing Rangers a narrow 1-0 win in the first leg of their Conference League playoff tie against Czech side Jablonec at Ibrox. Derek McInnes got his first win as Rangers manager at the fifth time of asking with a 5-1 thumping of St Mirren on Sunday but there was regression in the goalless first half which brought boos at the interval whistle.
The Govan side pepped up after the break and Naderi opened the scoring from close range in the 50th minute but in the 78th minute the substitute Cammy Devlin was sent off – minutes after coming off the bench – for a high tackle on Jiri Slama to leave Rangers to see out the game with 10 men.
Fabian Hürzeler, admitted: “It’s not the result we hoped for,” after Brighton were held to a frustrating goalless draw against Tromsø in Norway. The Seagulls, who open the new domestic campaign against Aston Villa on Sunday, created several good chances but could not find a way past the Tromsø keeper Jakob Haugaard.
The winger Ibrahim Osman – making his Brighton debut after three loan spells away – looked particularly lively during the first half. Tromsø then almost snatched a late winner on the break, but the defender Isak Vadebu sent his shot wide as the tie went into next week’s second leg at the Amex Stadium all square.
Hearts’ head coach, Wouter Vrancken, hopes James Wilson’s stunning goal in the 2-2 Conference League draw with Rapid Vienna is a sign of things to come from the youngster. He drilled in an unstoppable drive from 30 yards just moments after coming on as the hosts took the lead in the playoff first leg.
“He’s a young lad so for sure it will be extra special. Let’s hope he can make the next steps,” Vrancken said.
Wilson’s effort marked an impressive turnaround after Josh McPade cancelled out Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao’s first-half header. However, Rapid scrambled in a late equaliser through Nikolaus Wumbrand to ensure the tie remains on a knife edge ahead of next week’s return leg.
David Gray, the Hibernian head coach, savoured “a massive performance and a massive result” as his side kept themselves on course to reach the main phase with a spirited 0-0 draw in Belgium against Gent.
For the second Thursday night in a row, Hibs ground out a stalemate on foreign soil after they eliminated Shkendija in North Macedonia last week. It could have been even better for them if Owen Elding’s 15th-minute penalty had not been saved by Davy Roef.
Motherwell made a whirlwind start at home to Freiburg, with Regan Charles-Cook sidefooting in Emmanuel Longelo’s cutback after just 73 seconds. But Matthias Ginter headed Freiburg level on 27 minutes and netted a second from the spot, after Martin Moormann was shown a straight red card on 65 minutes via a video assistant referee review.
The substitute Keisuke Goto added a third with a stoppage-time header to leave the Scottish side with a 3-1 deficit mountain to climb in Germany next Thursday.
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The Northern Irish champions, Larne, took a big step towards the league phase after a 2-0 win at 10-man Lincoln Red Imps.
The match looked set to finish goalless in Gibraltar after Red Imps had held firm following Yussef Flalhi’s 29th-minute red card. However, visiting Larne made their pressure pay when Paul O’Neill struck with five minutes left before fellow substitute Kevin O’Hara’s stoppage-time breakaway goal ensured Gary Haveron’s side will have a cushion ahead of the second leg at Inver Park.
Shamrock were held to a 1-1 draw at home by the Finnish side KuPS after they conceded an 85th-minute equaliser. The former Sheffield United full-back Enda Stevens put the Irish side ahead after 49 minutes, but they were denied a precious victory when the one-time Charlton youngster Piotr Parzyszek levelled late on at Tallaght Stadium.
In the Europa League, Mohamed Salah played all 90 minutes of his home debut as Trabzonspor hosted Ferencvaros, but the Hungarian side won 1-0 and their Turkish opponents had Chibuike Nwaiwu sent off in added time.