Former Celtic striker Hyeon-Gyu Oh returned to Glasgow to haunt 10-man Rangers as he scored the only goal in Genk’s incident-packed 1-0 Europa League win at Ibrox.
The South Korea international had a first-half penalty saved, hit the winner after 55 minutes and later had a tap-in chalked off after he strayed offside.
Rangers – who had Mohamed Diomande sent off after 41 minutes – did not muster a shot on target after the 34th minute and were booed off when the final whistle was blown.
The result increases the pressure on Russell Martin, whose side have won four of their first 14 games in all competitions this term.
Rangers have won four of their first 14 games in all competitions
Genk were the ones asking questions for much of the first half at Ibrox, with Zakaria El Ouahdi proving a thorn in Jayden Meghoma’s side on the right. Oh flashed his connection on a dangerous ball in from the right-back over the bar from six yards; Patrik Hrosovky hit the post from a similar distance shortly afterwards.
That said, Rangers might have been ahead had it not been for an incredible goal-line clearance from Genk captain to hook John Souttar’s goalbound header away.
Rangers then appealed for a penalty when a James Tavernier header struck the outstretched arm of Joris Kayembe, but after he was sent to the VAR screen, referee Matej Jug upheld his decision of no penalty, owing to an apparent push from Tavernier on Kayembe.
Within three minutes, the hosts were reduced to 10 men. Diomande’s tackle caught El Ouahdi above the ankle and he was shown a straight red card. He lingered by the tunnel, hoping for VAR intervention, but it did not come.
To round off the first-half drama, Genk were awarded a penalty after a second VAR review, with Tavernier having clipped Yaimar Medina as he cut into the box from the left. Oh avoided Butland’s gaze as he prepared to take the spot-kick, but the former England goalkeeper made a strong save to deny him.
But Oh finally scored the goal he had been hoping for early in the second half. Jarne Steuckers’ brilliant ball found him completely unmarked and he was able to finish clinically under little pressure.
He tapped in a second with 20 minutes to play, which was quickly ruled out, but in the end, just one was enough.
Souttar: Players frustrated, just like the fans
Rangers’ John Souttar speaking to TNT Sports:
“Frustrating night. I thought we started the game pretty well, had a few chances. The sending off makes it difficult. Second half, we tried to play high, tried to get a few chances and we had a few, but it’s frustrating.
“If I knew what was going wrong, I’d try my best to help it. It’s numerous things. It’s difficult to analyse it right after the game, so it’s difficult for me to answer that.
“When we get a goal early on here, it lifts the whole crowd. And if we don’t get that, it’s difficult.
“I understand the frustrations; it’s the exact same in there. It’s not like we’re on different pages. We can only turn it around by performances and winning games. We need to do that quickly.”
