McCoist blown away by Rangers goalkeeper McGregor v Slavia Prague
Ally McCoist was blown away by Allan McGregor’s “phenomenal save” as Rangers drew 1-1 away at Slavia Prague in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Filip Helander’s away goal in the first half could prove pivotal to the Gers’ chances of reaching the quarter-finals but on the night, it was McGregor’s late save that earned Steven Gerrard’s men the draw.
Lukas Masopust must have thought he’d won the match for the Czech giants when his header was directed goalwards but McGregor scrambled across and managed to make the save, holding the ball in the process.
Ibrox legend McCoist could not believe his eyes. Speaking on BT Sport 3 after the match, he said: “Ridiculous, absolutely. To get to it is one thing but to hold onto it from the header was remarkable. How many times have we seen it?
McCoist added: “If you’re still playing at the level and making those saves, age is no barrier.
“The save from [Leigh] Griffiths was remarkable but that was potentially taking it to another level. Getting there is one thing but keeping it out and retaining it… Phenomenal save.”
Magnificent
As we saw on Thursday night, it takes something spectacular to beat McGregor because Stanciu’s early goal for Slavia Prague was a stunner.
McGregor was rooted to the spot and didn’t even try to attempt a save as the ball sailed past him.
He knew he had no chance so why try?
But he knew he had a chance at saving that late header from Slavia’s corner. But the most impressive part was that he held it.
If Slavia had won another corner or, even worse, the ball was parried back into play into the path of an attacker, it could have been a defeat for Rangers in the Czech capital.
Next week, the Gers will welcome Slavia Prague to Ibrox with the scores level but with the Scottish champions holding two massive advantages.
Obviously, the first advantage is that they have an away goal. But the second advantage is McGregor.
Including him in your team is like Gerrard using a cheatcode. What a goalkeeper.
In other Rangers news, Charlie Adam slammed this “sloppy” Gers player at Slavia Prague.