Rangers and Sporting shared a goalless draw in the first leg of their UEFA Cup quarter-final tie at Ibrox.

Walter Smith's men and the Portuguese outfit of Paulo Bento engaged in a battling match that occasionally boiled over into late challenges and gamesmanship.

However the result on the night was a fair one and leaves the Scottish SPL leaders at a disadvantage, but knowing that an away goal would give them a fantastic chance of reaching the semi-finals.

Visiting supporters must have been alarmed after only two minutes when star man in attack Liedson was stretchered off after two minutes on the floor.

However seconds after he left the field wrapped in an emergency blanket he was back on his feet and ready to come back on. The same occurred with Joao Moutinho on 12 minutes.

The Portuguese were clearly out to secure the draw, but given their craft could have had more from the match.

Lee McCulloch was the first to fire a dangerous shot at goal, his effort flying past the top corner of Rui Patricio on seven minutes.

Gers captain Barry Ferguson went in heavily on Moutinho after only 11 minutes, the challenge warranting a yellow card according to referee Iouri Baskakov - but not the length of time it took the midfielder to recover.

Home striker Jean-Claude Darcheville broke free on the right but could not find a man with his ball across, while Ferguson was on the receiving end of a retribution tackle from Marat Izmailov.

The Russian was lucky to remain on the field 10 minutes later after another hefty tackle in the middle of the park.

Simon Vukcevic and Liedson went close for Sporting, who dumped out Premier League side Bolton in the previous round. With the half drawing to a close, McCulloch caught a half-volley well at the other end to force Rui Patricio into a sterling stop in the bottom corner.

There were further cards for visiting full-back Leandro Grimi, Liedson and Rangers centre-half David Weir as the match remained on a knife-edge to the end.

Rangers' best chance arrived seven minutes into the half when Ferguson fed Steven Davis inside the defending Grimi, only for the strike to flash past the near post.

Weir lost the ball deep in the Rangers half to Liedson, who advanced into the penalty area and played it inside to Yannick Djalo. However Kirk Broadfoot was across like lightning to defend and save the veteran's blushes.

A minute later Weir hauled back Djalo near the box for his yellow card - and as a result will miss the second leg in Lisbon.

Jonathan Symcox / Eurosport