RANGERS have humbled a few famous clubs from major football nations in continental competition in recent years despite their domestic travails.
Few if any of the European results they have recorded in modern times, though, will have felt as sweet for their fans as this Battle of Britain draw with Spurs at Ibrox tonight.
The Glasgow club ensured there was no triumphant return to Scotland for former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou in their Europa League league phase match.
The morale-boosting point against the Premier League giants – secured thanks to a second-half Hamza Igamane goal - will raise their confidence levels no end ahead of their Premier Sports Cup final meeting with their city rivals at Hampden on Sunday.
A first win by a Scottish club over top flight English opponents in 18 years may have cruelly eluded them – but Rangers increased their chances of qualifying automatically for the knockout rounds of the competition all the same.
Here are five talking points from a memorable night.
Disappointing Spurs
Postecoglou described the catalogue of injuries and suspensions which he has had to deal with this season as the worst he has experienced in his 25 coaching career at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday – and his team selection highlighted the problems he has had.
He made no fewer than five changes to the side which lost 4-3 to Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday.
Rodrigo Bentancur, the Uruguayan internationalist whose ban for using a racial slur only applies to domestic fixtures, came into the midfield and James Maddison and Timo Werner also got the nod as Pape Sarr, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke dropped to the bench,
But it was at the back, where first choice centre halves Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven were both missing, that Postecoglou’s plight was most obvious. Archie Gray and Radu Dragusin came in to the heart of his rearguard.
Gray - the son of Andy, grandson of Frank and great-nephew of Eddie, a trio of former Scotland internationalists – might have cost Spurs a cool £40m during the summer. But the ex-Leeds United kid is still just 18 and is more of a central midfielder or a full-back.
Spurs looked very much like a side which had won just one of their previous seven games. They by no means, despite having Son Heung-min, Werner and Maddison on the park, troubled their hosts. Quite the opposite in fact. It was clear to see why they have been toiling in the English top flight. They were lucky to avoid defeat.
Rangers spirit
Philippe Clement mixed things up for this match too.
Danilo and Ianis Hagi, who have been two of his best performers in recent weeks, were unavailable as they were not included in the European squad. Leon Balogun and Connor Barron also dropped out as Ridvan Yilmaz, Robin Propper, Mohamed Diomande and Nadim Bajrami came in.
Yilmaz, who had not started since the Champions League qualifier against Dynamo Kyiv at Hampden way back in August, somewhat unusually slotted in on the left wing as Jefte remained at left back. Bajrami, too, moved inside and performed the playmaker role. But the set-up worked well.
The atmosphere inside the ground was electric as the two teams emerged from the tunnel – and when the visitors peeled away to the corner of the pitch and formed a Celtic-style huddle before kick-off the decibel levels got cranked up a notch or two.
Fraser Forster, the former Celtic player who inflicted so much misery on Rangers during his various spells in Scotland, was booed by the home supporters every time he took a touch. But the 6ft 7in goalkeeper did not have a huge amount to do in the opening 45 minutes.
He pushed a Bajrami attempt wide and dealt with two on target efforts from Vaclav Cerny. He would have been beaten if Bajrami or James Tavernier had been able to get on the end of a square ball which Jefte whipped across the six yard box. Fortunately for him, neither man could make contact.
But he could do nothing to keep an Igamane shot out of his net after the Moroccan striker had been supplied by Tavernier early in the second half. Nobody could begrudge Rangers their lead. They had been the better side.
Ange under pressure
Postecoglou removed Werner and put on Kulusevski at the start of the second half. But if anything his men were worse after the change. They were fortunate to only concede once as their hosts laid siege to their goal.
However, the substitute levelled with 15 minutes of regulation time remaining to ultimately salvage a draw for the visitors which their display scarcely merited.
The Greek-Australian enjoyed more successes than failures against Rangers during his time in Scotland. But his expensively-assembled team were on the back foot for long periods this evening. The pressure is well and truly on him now.
He had chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” aimed in his direction by the home supporters in the 48,064-strong crowd after Igamane struck. He will have to oversee a distinct upturn in form to avoid that fate in the weeks ahead.
Souttar setback
Rangers contained the Spurs front three pretty effectively in the opening half an hour and Jack Butland was never seriously tested in goal. But they suffered a serious blow when centre half John Souttar sank to the turf and then hobbled off injured after failing to respond to treatment.
Balogun, the Nigerian internationalist who is no stranger to big European nights, came on and acquitted himself well. But if Souttar is out of the Premier Sports Cup final it will seriously reduce the defending champions’ chances of retaining their trophy. The Scotland internationalist has been immense for them this term.
Euro progress
With Manchester United away and Union St Gilloise to come in January, there is still a lot of football to be played before Rangers can clinch a place in the next stage of the competition. But if they perform as well as this in their next two outings then they will go through.
Only a brilliant Forster save from a Cyriel Dessers shot with five minutes of regulation time denied them victory.
