By Gareth James
Aaron Ramsey has been defended by Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst after the Wales midfielde’s missed penalty cost the club the Europa League Trophy.
Ramsey – who will be named in the Wales squad on Thursday for the World Cup play-off clash against either Scotland or Ukraine – was distraught after Eintracht Frankfurt beat Rangers 5-4 in the shoot-out to win the Europa League in dramatic fashion.
It finished 1-1 after 90 minutes in Seville, with Joe Aribo’s opener cancelled out by Rafael Borre as Frankfurt responded impressively to falling behind.
Another 30 minutes was not enough to separate the sides with the scoreboard not troubled, sending the Europa League final to the spot for the second season in a row.
Ramsey, introduced in the dying minutes of extra-time, was denied by the legs of Kevin Trapp and Borre stepped up to make it five perfect penalties for Frankfurt and secure European glory for the German club.
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James Tavernier, Steven Davis, Scott Arfield all scored their penalties before Ramsey’s low effort was saved by Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.
Borre then converted Frankfurt’s fifth penalty to secure the trophy for the Bundesliga club.
Asked how the mood was in Rangers’ dressing room after the defeat in Seville, Van Bronckhorst said: ‘It’s very down, you can see that already after the game.
“It’s never nice to lose and so everyone is hurt, disappointed, you can sense that in the locker room. I think it’s also normal so short after the game.
“Aaron, of course, was disappointed. But he took responsibility to take the penalty.
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“You can make it or you can miss it. Unfortunately for us he didn’t make it but you want to have players taking penalties and who are comfortable also.
“‘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.”
Ramsey has played 13 games in four months since joining Rangers on loan from Italian giants Juventus.
Former Scotland midfielder Pat Nevin highlighted the harsh reality of Ramsey’s saved attempt.
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IN➡️Aaron Ramsey
OUT⬅️ Fashion SakalaAaron Ramsey came in 3 minutes to the penalty shoot and missed a crucial penalty to hand Eintracht Frankfurt the Europa League Trophy in their first appearance in a European in 42 years!#UELfinal #UEL #streetfootballfanatics pic.twitter.com/Z0x4LPeokb
— Street Football Fanatics (@FanaticsStreet) May 18, 2022
“The standard of penalties was astonishingly high, except for Ramsey’s,” Nevin said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “He has to live with that for the rest of his life.”
Ramsey, along with the rest of his team-mates, must dust himself down quickly with Saturday’s Scottish Cup final against Hearts looming.
Van Bronckhorst will now be tasked with rousing his players for the domestic season’s curtain-closer as he aims to win his first silverware as Ibrox boss.
“Of course it’s not going to be easy to get them ready,” the Dutchman added. “We are hurt and disappointed. We fly home [Thursday] and we have only one day to prepare.
“It won’t be easy but we will be ready for Saturday to end the season with a trophy.”
