All Football

Schalke 1-0 Rangers

Walter Smith handed a first start to controversial summer capture Kenny Miller as Rangers rounded off their pre-season stint in Germany and The Netherlands with a 1-0 defeat in Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins Arena.

It may be early days, but both managers named positive line-ups for the clash - Rangers starting with, technically, a 4-3-3 away in Europe; a rare sight indeed.

Miller started on the left with Nacho Novo on the right and Jean-Claude Darcheville through the middle. It was the hosts, though, who had the better first half.


Fabian Ernst pulled a shot wide from 25 yards before forcing stand-in ‘keeper Neil Alexander into a save with another long-range drive.

Spaniard Novo was the visitor’s busiest player during the opening period and might have opened the scoring were it not for Christian Pander’s block at the back post.

However, the tide was mostly blue - the blue of Schalke - and their goal came from a poorly defender corner. Jefferson Farfan’s corner was headed easily home by Mladen Krstajic, who had evaded marker Kirk Broadfoot all too easily.

The half-time lead would be telling for Schalke, as the match descended into the routine substitution-fest after the break, particularly for Fred Rutten.

One home sub, Ivan Rakitic, took a wicked free-kick that required Alexander to make a top-notch save and Gers’ sub Andrius Velicka was similarly unlucky, hitting the post with a header after Darcheville’s deep cross.

However, there was to be no more scoring and, other than getting a decent work-out, neither team will have learned anything crucial from the afternoon’s fare.

Gers boss Smith told the club’s official website after the game: “Obviously with the standard of team Schalke are, it was always going to be difficult for us.

“They had more good possession of the ball, as you would expect from them when they are at home.

“We were disappointed to lose the goal in the manner we did - from a set-play - but I don’t think we could complain as they deserved their lead.”

Schalke: Schober; Rafinha (Grossmuller 77), Krstajic (Howedes 63), Bordon (Zambrano 80), Pander (Engelaar 46); Jones (Varela 77), Ernst (Ze Roberto 84), Kobiashvili, Streit (Rakitic 46); Asamoah (Kenia 84), Farfan (Sanchez 70).

Unused subs: Fahrmann.

Rangers: Alexander; Whittaker, Weir, Broadfoot, Papac; Novo (Adam 60), McCulloch, Dailly, Thomson, Miller (Velicka 73); Darcheville.

Unused subs: G. Smith, Webster, Cousin, Furman, Fleck.

Fulham 3-1 Celtic

The pre-season workout may not have gone the Bhoys’ way, but one notable aspect of the Craven Cottage atmosphere was that it was strongly biased towards the away side. Some 11,000 of the 16, 508 inside the ground were Hoops fans.

However, Jimmy Bullard was keen to silence the travelling faithful early on, robbing Andreas Hinkel and teeing up Erik Nevland to open the scoring after less than three minutes.

Having played 24 hours before, Celtic’s legs must have seemed wearier after the early setback but they pressed for a leveller.

Scott McDonald came close on a couple of occasions before Chris Killen brough a fine save out of David Stockdale with a firm header.

Against the run of play, though, the hosts doubled their advantage just after the half-hour mark. Nevland turned provider and Bobby Zamora finished with an emphatic volley to put the Premiership outfit two up.

Before half-time Barry Robson hauled the Hoops back into the contest, winning a free-kick outside the area and curling it low past Stockdale himself.

The visitors were the better side after the interval, but their slew of substitutions - including young Japanese Koki Mizuno - prevented them from displaying the necessary sharpness to break down the cagey Cottagers.

Having run out of ideas, Celtic faltered and half-time Fulham sub Leon Andreasen completed the scoring inside the last five minutes.

The lead might have been cut when Scott Brown hit the bar in the dying moments, but nevertheless Gordon Strachan clearly has more work to do than counterpart Roy Hodgson during the remainder of the offseason.

Strachan told Sky Sports after the contest: “I think we had lazy minds from last night. We finished the game at 10 o’clock and we were up again this morning; at nine o’clock we were on the go again.

“We were lazy for 20 minutes but once we cleared that, I thought we put a good show on.”

Drooling over new £6.3m capture Zamora’s strike, Roy Hodgson said: “It was a wonderful goal created by a nice move. It’s a good start for Bobby.”

Fulham: Stockdale, Konchesky (Kallio 71), Pantsil (Volz 71), Hangeland, Andranik (Andresen 46), Nevland (Healy 65), Gera (Cook 65), Hughes, Bullard (Dempsey 46), Davies (Murphy 46), Zamora (Johnson 46).

Unused subs: Etheridge, Ki-Hyeon.

Celtic: Brown; Hinkel (Wilson 46), Caldwell, McManus, Naylor (O?Dea 59); Robson (Caddis 67), Brown, Donati (Hartley 46), McGeady (Mizuno 76), Killen (Samaras 46), McDonald (Sheridan 67).

Unused subs: Fox, Balde, Nakamura, McGowan.

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