Rangers Eliminated by Jablonec in Conference League Shootout

Rangers have been eliminated from the UEFA Conference League after losing a penalty shootout to Czech side Jablonec in the playoff round. The Guardian reported that Jablonec won the shootout 4-3 after taking the second leg 1-0 at Stadion Strelnice, leaving the tie level at 1-1 on aggregate following extra time.

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Derek McInnes's team had travelled to Czechia with a 1-0 advantage from the first leg at Ibrox. Rangers were unable to protect that lead, however, and Jablonec midfielder Vakhtang Chanturishvili brought the teams level in the 73rd minute. His low drive beat Rangers goalkeeper Ivor Pandur and ensured the contest would continue beyond the regulation 90 minutes.

McInnes made second-half changes in an effort to alter the course of the match, introducing Lawrence Shankland, Connor Barron and Findlay Curtis. According to The Guardian's match report, those substitutions did not enable Rangers to establish control, and neither side scored again before or during extra time. The resulting aggregate draw sent the playoff to penalties.

Pandur gave Rangers an opportunity in the shootout by saving Filip Zorvan's attempt. Rangers could not convert that opening into an advantage: Curtis sent his penalty over the bar, while Jablonec goalkeeper Jan Hanus stopped James Penrice's kick. Jan Chramosta then scored the decisive penalty to complete Jablonec's 4-3 shootout win.

The result closes Rangers' European campaign in August. They had already dropped out of Europa League qualifying after a 3-2 aggregate defeat by Polish club Jagiellonia Bialystok, before continuing in the Conference League qualifying path. Their second continental elimination of the season came despite carrying a first-leg lead into the return match.

For Jablonec, the shootout victory secured progress from a tie in which they had failed to score in Glasgow but recovered at home. For Rangers, the confirmed outcome is an early exit from European competition under McInnes, with the decisive moments coming after Chanturishvili erased their aggregate lead and Hanus denied Penrice in the shootout.