Jack Butland has had his critics during the campaign. However, when the Rangers needed it more, he put himself in the foreground and used that great right hand of his to snatch an unforgettable victory of the jaws of defeat.
With two goals from Pole Sebastian Szymanski, having eaten the advantage of the Rangers of the first stage in Istanbul and the extra time that a winner could not find, we were deeply in the trenches of a criminal shooting.
Butland had launched him holding his position and making his body on the path of a Dusan Tadic effort. However, with James Tavernier and Vaclav Cerny they scored their efforts and the 2-2 tie level, Sub Ianis Hagi saw its weak attempt pushed to the post for Irfan Can Egribiyat.
It was then that Butland produced the magic that saw him promoted for a retreat from England the last period. Visiting Captain Fred broke a ray to his right, but the 32 -year -old divered, stuck that right hand and changed everything.
In a matter of minutes, Tom Lawrence had achieved 3-2 and Mert Hakan Yandas had skied his miles on the bar to take the rangers to the last eight of the Europa League and in a delicious confrontation with Bilbao Atlético.
For Andrew Cavenagh, sitting in the box of the directors right in front of the legend of Ibrox Brian Laudrup, there were so many signs here of what the Rangers could be. If the extravagant drama of this incredible night in front of a full house, in which the local side was seen for as long as paying the price due to lack of quality in the forward areas and a worrying capacity for coughing in cheap objectives, it does not convince it that it is doing the right thing to direct a control outlet of the United States, nothing will.
Goalkeeper Jack Butland denies Fred with a crucial penalty in the shooting with Fenerbahce
Manager Barry Ferguson celebrates the progress of the Rangers to the quarterfinals of the Europa League
Fenerbahce's manager, José Mourinho, observes from the barrier while his team loses together
Yes, an unwanted story was made by a team that lost four followed at home for the first time in the history of the club, but that did not put any shock absorber in the jubilant scenes on time.
This was a game that the Rangers had under control during the first half hour. Then, they lost their way completely before gathering in extra time. It was a roller coaster of the highest order. And in the end, despite everything, such a night to remember.
The first doors, Fenerbahce was willing to stamp its influence on the procedures, enjoying its fair part of the ball against a local team using the same 5-4-1, or 5-2-2-1 or 3-4-2-1 if you want to be elegant, that served them very well in the first stage.
However, Nicolas Raskin had nothing like that. Entering tacle, winning possession, the Belgian was intrinsic for the rangers that were established in the game. With that platform to open a little and play now built safely, the witness was transmitted to Cerny.
The Czech internationalist has the ability to come alive on nights like this and represented the greatest threat of the Rangers at all times. In 12 minutes, a Mohamed Diomande pass sent Jegfte on the left and his low cross created a great opportunity. However, Cerny bit the crucial moment.
Shortly after, the Wolfsburg man in the law firm had a shot from the distance saved by goalkeeper Egribiyat visitor and approached again in the middle of opening 45 when cutting from the right and flashing a low impulse on the side network.
So close was the effort that much of the stadium increased in the midst of thunderous joy, believing that the ball had gone to the right side of the post. The rangers had put themselves in a strong position.
They had the game under control, safe. It is true that they had not involved their poses of Cyriel at all in the striker and had been guilty of exaggerating him a bit in the last third, but Fenerbahce had barely created an opportunity.
Until minute 35. Until the pendulum began to slowly balance the other way.
The alarm bells sounded when an ambitious diagonal ball of Sofyan Amrabat was placed on the head of Leon Balogun and went to Youssef En-Lanesyri behind.
The young Moroccan sent his first mile effort, but it was a very definitive opening and the first real sign of this game was beginning to twist the Rangers.
For justice, interim manager Barry Ferguson had been like a cat in a tin roof from the beginning, demanding that the crowd lighting fire in the stands he had wanted before the game, urging his players, showing his emotions with each decision for or against.
In the other technical area, Mourinho cut a very different figure. Dressed in a gray coat combination, gray scarf, gray pants and gray shoes, it seemed somewhat out of a television program of the 70s. A bad of Sapphire and Steel, maybe. Or Randall and Hopkirk killed.
When the progress finally arrived in the second morbounds of regulation time in the opening period, I almost hoped he took out a hairy white cat to make the blow.
The goal was delivered through a wonderful final by Szymanski, no doubt. However, it was granted at a low price on one side of the Rangers that had been showing admirable levels of focus and intensity until then.
First, Dujon Sterling, used on the side of the right, should have done it better by stopping Filip Kostic by placing a flank cross.
When he arrived, James Tavernier seemed to judge the flight and let him pass over his head, leaving Szymanski to adjust his shape and send an imperative volley for the first time through Butland and towards the upper corner.
The local crowd remained “on the side”, as Captain Tavernier had wanted, but much is not needed for Ibrox to become an anxious place these days. You could feel my nerves. Mourinho could also. He began to move away from his technical area when the second half took place, shouting his players, lifting the official room. Smelling blood.
Talisca sending a free header of a Kostic cross in the back post certainly told Ferguson that he had to do something to try to change the flow of the game.
With Ridvan Yilmaz already on for Sterling, Igamane replaced the ineffective poses in the second 45 with Nedim Bajami also for Diomande.
For a short time, he brought an answer. Igamane forced a low salvation of Egriyibat, Tavernier showed a shot, the noise levels rose a level. And then everything was silent, apart from that corner of yellow and blue in the distant corner of the ground.
With 73 minutes on the clock, Mert Muldur got on the left, Jefte lost the Tackle and the cutting line cut was attacked by Szymanski. His first time Poke towards the goal took Butland out of play and left Tavernier on the line.
And deep in the detention time, it would have ended if it were not for the intervention of the pattern of the Rangers. With the local team again coughing possession, En-Nesyri received a clear shot from the interior of the area at the end of a penetrating passage.
If Tavernier had not caught his foot for a vital and last minute touch while the striker pressed the trigger, the game would surely have finished.
As he was, the Rangers recovered to some extent in the first half of extra time, with Cerny forcing a particularly good salvation of Egriyibat. In the second period, Tavernier then asked Fenerbahce No. 1 with a free test kick after Alexander Djiku knocked down Hagi substitute, in Jefte.
Mourinho was loaded with yellow by the Norwegian referee Eskas with three minutes after complaining about what looked like a decent penalty claim for a Tarkin trip at the sub Mert Hakan Yandas.
However, his team would get five cracks from the place at the end to finish the work. And they couldn't. The rangers are marching. Somehow.