Martin’s reign begins with first-leg win over 10-man Panathinaikos | OneFootball

Russell Martin’s tenure as Rangers manager got off to a bright start with a 2-0 victory over a Panathinaikos side that finished the match with ten men.

After a tight and tense opening 45 minutes, it was youngster Findlay Curtis Curtis who finally broke the deadlock early in the second half, much to the delight of the Ibrox faithful.

Things went from bad to worse for the visitors shortly after, when full-back Georgios Vagiannidis saw red for a second bookable offence, leaving the Greek side with a mountain to climb.

Djeidi Gassama then doubled Rangers’ lead late on, handing the Glasgow side a firm grip on the tie ahead of next week’s return leg.

Before that, Rangers take a brief pause from competitive football as they welcome Championship outfit Middlesbrough to Ibrox this weekend for a pre-season friendly, ahead of the decisive trip to Athens on Wednesday 30 July to face Rui Vitória’s men.