GIOVANNI van Bronckhorst last night praised Aaron Ramsey for having the bravery to take a penalty kick in the shoot-out that decided the Europa League final in Seville following Rangers’ agonising defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Ramsey, who had come on for Fashion Sakala towards the end of the second period of extra-time in the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, saw his weak attempt to score from 12 yards blocked by opposition keeper Kevin Trapp.
Filip Kostic and Rafael Borre, who had cancelled out Joe Aribo’s second-half opener to force extra-time, then buried their own efforts to give Oliver Glasner’s side a hard-fought 5-4 victory.
It was an agonising moment for the vastly-experienced Welsh internationalist, who has been bedevilled by injuries since moving to Ibrox on loan from Italian giants Juventus back in January, as he had been sent on specifically to take a penalty.
But Van Bronckhorst, who saw Ryan Kent’s shot from a few yards out denied by Trapp in the 118th minute, only had admiration for the former Arsenal playmaker and described shoot-outs as “a lottery”.
“Of course, it’s a big disappointment,” said the Dutchman. “If you play a final in Europe and you lose it will hurt. When you play a final you will do everything you can to win it. With penalties it’s a lottery.
“Tonight we weren’t on the good side. But I can’t complain with everything my players gave before tonight and tonight. It was a tight game and went to penalties and we lost.
“We were so close to winning a trophy, but that’s football. If you play a lot of big games, finals, you will have memories that stay with you. But I also lost a World Cup final. Next season we have to start all over again. The disappointment is there tonight.
“You see the game. There were a lot of subs used. It was tough physically. The players gave everything, all their effort on the pitch. We had to sub some players because they were struggling physically. I can’t complain they gave everything.”
Van Bronckhorst added: “I think we prepared well also for penalties. In the penalty kicks some players are comfortable taking penalties. We had a few who were comfortable taking penalties and others who did not want to take one. We had to adjust it because of the subs. Borna (Barisic) had to go out and he’s one of the first penalty kickers.
“He (Ramsey) is very down. It’s never nice to lose. Everyone is hurt and disappointed. You can sense that in the locker room. That’s normal so shortly after the game.
“Aaron was disappointed, but he took responsibility to take the penalty and you can make it or miss it. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it, but you want to have players who are comfortable taking penalties.”
Asked about the Kent shot that Trapp saved at the death, Van Bronckhorst said: “Of course we had a big chance in the end. I think it was a great save. In those minutes towards the end of the game it is decisive. It was a big chance for us.
“Ryan did everything he could to score the goal. When you get these big chances you have to take them, especially in the final minutes, but Ryan did everything he could.
“We gave everything. It was a very close game throughput the whole game. We started really well, but in these matches you have to be comfortable on the ball.
“In our possession play you see sometimes that the pressure was there and we sometimes tried the easy ball instead of the ball to break lines. In the end we just fell short.”
Van Bronckhorst insisted his players will be ready for the Scottish Cup final against Hearts at Hampden on Saturday despite playing in such a physically and mentally exhausting match.
“Of course it’s not going to be easy to get them ready because it’s emotional,” he said. “We are hurt and disappointed. We are flying back tomorrow with only one day to prepare. But we will do it, we will be ready for Saturday and try to finish the season with a trophy.”
Meanwhile, John Lundstram confessed the entire Rangers squad was devastated after being denied victory over Eintracht in the Europa League final by a “world-class” Kevin Trapp save.
“We are heartbroken,” said Lundstram to BT Sport. “It’s so hard to take to lose on penalties. In the 120 minutes, I don’t think both teams were great. We could have played better.
“But it’s hard to play on a big stage like this, it’s nervous for everyone. I am just severely disappointed to lose on penalties. It’s a lottery, anyone could have missed.
“Aaron is an experienced enough player to know that. It could have been any of the 11 on the pitch. We are just so heartbroken.
“I’m disappointed to let everyone down. They have all come over to Seville and we had three quarters of the stadium. It’s just heartbreaking.
“The chance at the end was the point where we could have won it. But what can you do? It was a world-class save.
“We are just devastated. The boys put in so much graft. We can all be super proud to have got this far, but I am so heartbroken for the fans and everyone.
“We were the one pushing and pressing in extra time. We were getting crosses in and Ryan had the chance, but the keeper made a top save.”
