Andrew Dickson reports from Ibrox

RANGERS' hopes of making the UEFA Cup final are alive and well after a makeshift side held Fiorentina to a 0-0 home draw in the first leg of their semi-final.

Deprived of nine first-teamers, Walter Smith knew his men would be hard pushed to take any sort of advantage with them to Italy for the return game next week.

But the side he put out turned in a spirited performance to give themselves a good chance of going on to meet either Bayern Munich or Zenit in Manchester next month.

Gers have only taken on a Serie A outfit on their own patch and won once, but that victory came just last season.

There are still a number of players in the squad who were involved in that 3-2 triumph at Livorno and that will give the Ibrox outfit confidence at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

With so many players unavailable through injury and suspension, Smith's team was a relatively straightforward one to choose.

His starting line-up was set up in the same 4-5-1 formation that has served Gers so well in Europe this season.

But as the likes of Barry Ferguson, Kevin Thomson, Lee McCulloch and Allan McGregor were missing, it was clearly going to be a tough night.

Rangers began well enough but soon began sitting too deep, almost inviting pressure on themselves.

A string of misplaced passes gave the visitors chances to exploit the home defence but only Adrian Mutu could hit the target in the opening stages.

Neil Alexander saved his tame shot while David Weir scrambled clear after Giampaolo Pazzini handled in the box and tried to get a shot in when his foul wasn't spotted..

Jean-Claude Darcheville hit back for the Light Blues, fooling Alessandro Gamberini with a great dummy but then running into a corner and struggling to get an effort in.

Steven Whittaker also had a go from long range with a swerving shot after the ball was given away in midfield but he was never going to trouble Sebastien Frey.

Fiorentina replied through Martin Jorgensen, who tested Alexander with a well-struck effort which the former Ipswich keeper holding it confidently.

La Viola were beginning to look comfortable but Mutu was lucky to escape a booking when he tried to divert Zdravko Kuzmanovic's cross into the net with his hand.

Kuzmanovic then had a go himself from 35 yards but Alexander always had the ball covered as it rolled wide.

A smart ball from Mutu had hearts in mouths as Carlos Cuellar touched away from Alexander right into Mario Santana's path with half-time approaching.

But Sasa Papac was there on the line to clear when it seemed his team might fall behind and it was goalless at the interval.

Rangers looked bright after the restart, with Nacho Novo just clearing the crossbar when he caught sight of Frey off his line.

Indeed, they began to exert a bit of pressure themselves and it clearly worried Fiorentina, who didn't seem overly bothered about trying to break the deadlock.

With the hosts in the ascendancy, Steven Davis sent a header wide from Novo's fierce cross and the noise levels inside the ground cranked up a little more.

Kirk Broadfoot's quick free kick then released Novo and he charged goalwards, although he never seemed likely to score with his shot from a tight angle.

Smith threw on Thomas Buffel and Daniel Cousin for Novo and Darcheville as he looked to turn the screw.

But the move coincided with a dip in the tempo and the Italians came back into the game, enjoying far more possession than Gers.

That made for an uneasy final quarter and Mutu hit a 30-yard free kick similar to the one he scored in the last round at PSV towards goal with as much venom and pace.

This time, however, Alexander held it well and as time ticked on, it seemed the scoresheet would stay blank.

Weir almost nicked a winner for the Light Blues from a Cuellar cross but it ran wide, while Christian Vieri's free kick flew over at the other end.

That means Rangers will travel to Tuscany next midweek with great hope of reaching their first European final since 1972.

RANGERS: Alexander; Broadfoot, Weir, Cuellar, Papac; Whittaker, Hemdani, Davis, Dailly, Novo (Buffel 58); Darcheville (Cousin 58).

Subs not used: G. Smith, Boyd, Gow, Webster, Faye.

FIORENTINA: Frey; Jorgensen, Gamberini, Ujfalusi, Gobbi; Kuzmanovic, Liverani, Montolivo; Santana, Pazzini (Vieri 80), Mutu.

Subs not used: Avramov, Kroldrup, Dainelli, Potenza, Osvaldo, Pasqual.

Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece).