Jorg Albertz rediscovered his confidence and his scoring touch last night with Rangers reaping the benefit. The German midfielder had to settle for a place on the bench even though coach Dick Advocaat was without a number of key players.
Albertz was called into play in the 78th minute with Rangers trailing in this UEFA Cup first round first leg match. He made a dramatic impact, taking just six minutes to get the equaliser and a vital away goal.
Albertz started the move, picking out Andrei Kanchelskis with a marvellous cross-field pass. The Russian winger took it on and waited until Albertz had made his run until the edge of the area. Albertz thundered in a 25-yard drive that went beyond keeper Itzhak Kornfein.
Beitar, found their rhythm early on. Rangers keeper Lionel Charbonnier looked a little hesitant in the 16th minute and conceded a penalty after tripping Shitrit. The influential Yosef Abukasis paused in his run-up before delivering the spot-kick into the corner.
Beitar Jerusalem: Beitar Jerusalem: Kornfein, Domb, Dery, Levy, Abukasis, Telesnikov, Shelah, Shitrit, Hamar, Sandor, Rehuben. Subs: Raythman, Mizrahi, Grif, Ohama, Yaacobi.
Rangers: Charbonnier, Porrini, Amoruso, B. Ferguson, Kanchelskis, Van Bronckhorst, I. Ferguson, Wallace, Moore, Johansson, Vidmar. Subs: Albertz, Niemi, Petric, Gattuso, Graham, Miller, Stensaas.
Referee: B Souse (France).