Rangers slipped at the starting line of their William Hill Premiership campaign with a 1-1 draw against Motherwell at Fir Park.
Gers skipper James Tavernier headed in from a corner in the 14th minute but Russell Martin’s side never really found any rhythm.
The Light Blues survived Well pressure for large spells of the second half but only until the 87th minute when Emmanuel Longelo drove in the equaliser.
[[Rangers]] reached the Champions League third qualifying round by completing a 3-1 aggregate win over Panathinaikos in Athens on Wednesday but carried a fair bit of luck over the two games.
And after this unimpressive display in Lanarkshire, there is clearly and understandably still work to do for Martin’s side, as they try to implement his possession-based philosophy.
Motherwell’s new boss Jens Berthel Askou, a former team-mate of Martin at Norwich taking charge of his first league game, will be pleased by the way his side kept going when it looked like it would not be their day.
[[Rangers]] could quickly fall behind champions and Old Firm rivals Celtic, who host St Mirren on Sunday, following a game that took time to warm up.
In the fourth minute Well keeper Calum Ward palmed a 25-yard free-kick from Tavernier around a post and Kieran Dowell headed Joe Rothwell’s corner over the crossbar.
Rangers were getting their aim in.
Attacker Djeidi Gassama – who started in place of Findlay Curtis in the only change – curled a shot wide after taking a pass from Brazilian striker Danilo, who then clipped the bar with a shot from 25 yards.
However, it seemed all to easy for Tavernier to head in a Rothwell delivery to the back post for his 131st Gers goal, after Well skipper Paul McGinn had shanked a clearance to concede a corner.
While dangerous in attack, the visitors looked fragile in defence at times – this could be a feature of their play this season – and in the 24th minute keeper Jack Butland fumbled an effort from an unmarked Longelo then blocked the shot on the rebound from striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos.
Both sides were intent on playing out from the back and there were numerous turnovers but little in the way of goalmouth action, until Ward made a save from Gassama’s header two minutes after the interval.
Minutes later, Callum Slattery’s whipped-in free-kick, after he had been fouled by Tavernier, found Elijah Just at the back post but he could not control his header and the ball went off target.
Motherwell grew in confidence and Butland made a diving save from McGinn’s low drive after the defender had burst into the Gers box, with John Souttar completing the clearance.
Lyall Cameron and Cyriel Dessers replaced Mohamed Diomande and Danilo and debutant Cameron got booked immediately for a foul on Lukas Fadinger before he tested Ward with a 25-yard drive.
At the other end, Stamatelopoulos headed over from just under the bar from a tantalising cross from Just.
However, with three minutes remaining Longelo burst too easily into the Gers box and when the ball was repelled, Johnny Koutroumbis returned it into the area, Just chested it back and Longelo drilled it low past Butland for a well-deserved equaliser.
And only a fine save from the Ibrox keeper in added time from substitute Tom Sparrow prevented a defeat.
