Nil-nil means nothing for Peseiro

José Peseiro said a narrow defeat would have been a better result than the goalless draw his Panathinaikos FC side earned at Rangers FC in Wednesday night's UEFA Cup Round of 32 first leg.

'A danger'
Many coaches would be thrilled to escape from Ibrox with a clean sheet, but the 47-year-old Portuguese coach was disappointed not to have come away with at least one away goal. "It's 0-0 just now and that is a danger," he said. "I would have preferred a 1-1, a 2-2 or even losing 2-1 tonight to a 0-0 draw."

Thursday return
The result leaves the Greek side as marginal favourites to earn a last 16 tie with the winner of Werder Bremen's fixture against SC Braga, but the former Sporting Clube de Portugal coach was not convinced. "The tie is not finished and I expect a difficult game in Athens for both teams," he said.

Novo chances
Walter Smith's Rangers had the better chances, with most of them falling to recalled striker Nacho Novo, but the manager was not angry with the Spaniard, saying: "All our opportunities fell to him and it just didn't go his way. He has managed to get a few vital goals for us this season and unfortunately tonight wasn't his night."

Away goals
While the return leg is unlikely to be easy for Rangers, Smith remained upbeat. "Panathinaikos played well and they had some nice possession of the ball," he said. "They didn't really threaten us until the latter stages but they showed enough to suggest they will be dangerous at home. However, we have managed to score a few goals away from home in the UEFA Champions League and we can do so again in Athens."