Europa League Heartbreak For Makhanya
(Photo: Gallo) Olwethu Makhanya’s Rangers crashed out of UEFA Europa League qualifying after a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Jagiellonia Bialystok.
Olwethu Makhanya suffered continental heartbreak with his new club, as Rangers dropped out of UEFA Europa League qualifying. Their continental prospects, however, remain alive.
Rangers went into the second leg at Ibrox trailing 2-1 from their away game against Jagiellonia Bialystok.
The Gers’ captain Lawrence Shankland brought the tie level on aggregate when he converted a penalty in the 19th minute after VAR spotted a Yuki Kobayashi handball.
However, Nik Prelec restored Jagiellonia’s lead on aggregate in the 65th minute, rising highest at the back post to head in Anders Klynge’s cross for a 3-2 advantage.
Despite late pressure and close efforts from substitutes Vanja Dragojevic and Findlay Curtis, Rangers could not find a second goal, and the tie ended 1-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate in favour of the Polish side, sending Rangers into the UEFA Conference League play-offs.
Makhanya lined up in defence for Derek McInnes’ side and registered Rangers’ first effort on goal in the sixth minute.
Following an initial corner, Djeidi Gassama recycled the ball back into the box, where it broke to the South African, whose shot went straight to Jagiellonia goalkeeper Slawomir Abramowicz.
The result compounds a difficult start to the 2026/27 campaign under McInnes, with Rangers failing to secure a victory across their opening four competitive fixtures — two draws and two defeats.
Just one point from their opening two Scottish Premiership matches leaves them trailing early off the pace after a draw at Tannadice and a home loss to Hibernian.
“We need to get more quality. We need to try and get more confidence into the team. But there wasn’t an outcome that we wanted,” the tactician said, per Glasgow Times.
“It wasn’t good enough. What we served up throughout the second half wasn’t good enough. We’ve got to be honest with that; we’ve got to own it.”
Reflecting on the season thus far, McInnes said: “In the four games we’ve played, we’ve had some good moments, but it’s not been good enough. And it’s certainly not a strong enough 90-minute performance.”
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The next challenge for the Glasgow-based club is a second-round Scottish League Cup clash against St Mirren FC on Sunday.
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