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UEFA CUP: Rangers through, Bolton crash out

Werder Bremen's Naldo, left, Christian Dailly of Rangers, second left, Charles Adam of Rangers, center bottom, Werder Bremen's Per Mertesacker, second right, and Carlos Cuellar of Rangers challenge for the ball during their Round of 16 second leg UEFA Cup match in Bremen, Germany, on Thursday. PHOTO: AP

Rangers marched into the UEFA Cup quarter-finals on Thursday to save Britain's blushes after English clubs crashed out.

Rangers lost 1-0 at Werder Bremen of Germany, but their 2-0 first leg victory at Ibrox was enough to see the Scots through.

In Thursday's late match, Sporting Lisbon beat Bolton 1-0 to go through 2-1 on aggregate for a further English victim after Tottenham and Everton were both eliminated after penalty shootouts on Wednesday.

Rangersgoalkeeper Allan McGregor refused to talk up his side's chances of winning the competition.

Werder Bremen's Diego scored the only goal of the game after 58 minutes, but McGregor was forced to stand firm under a barrage of late pressure, making several impressive saves.

On their chances of going all the way in the competition, he told BBC Scotland: "I don't know about that but Werder Bremen must have been one of the favorites and you can only take it one game at a time."

"But it's an unbelievable spirit here and all the boys get on well. It's a great mix of Scottish lads and foreigners and the banter is good," McGregor said. "This is massive for the club. Even at the start of the Champions League draw nobody expected us to get here. We've dug deep tonight and that's what was needed."

Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon were an unremarkable team and it would be a major surprise if they go on to win the competition in May.

But against a Bolton Wanderers side shorn of several stars as Premier League survival is paramount, Sporting clinched their quarter-final place via Bruno Pereirinha's 85th-minute strike.

Bolton's Gary Cahill, a winter transfer window signing from Aston Villa, told BBC television after the match: "We knew it would be difficult. I thought we frustrated them and they did not hit us that much in the first half."

"I don't know what was lacking today. It was one of those games," Cahill said.

On Wednesday, England's Tottenham Hotspur and Everton also exited the competition.
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