Rangers' exacting season on the European front came to an end when they succumbed to Zenit St Petersburg in an enthralling UEFA Cup final at the City of Manchester Stadium.

The Ibrox club had waited 36 years since their last European triumph, a European Cup Winners' Cup final win over Moscow Dynamo in Barcelona.

However, this time it was a match too far for the Light Blues who found their cash-rich Russian opponents simply that bit better on the night.

The Glasgow side's exhausting European run, 10 games in the Champions League and nine in the UEFA Cup, was forged on determination, doggedness and, on occasion, some very dour football against sides such as Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon and Fiorentina.

And all those ingredients were on display as they battled away in their own inimitable way but Igor Denisov's 72nd-minute strike, added to in injury-time by Konstantin Zyrianov's tap-in, gave the St Petersburg side, managed by former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat, their first European trophy.

In 1972 the Rangers fans had invaded the pitch and prevented the then Ibrox captain John Greig being presented with the trophy on the pitch.

This time hundreds of Zenit fans climbed over the hoardings in jubilation but they were chased back to their seats from where they watched skipper Anatoliy Tymoschuk the lift the trophy high into the Manchester air.

Rangers will have to re-focus quickly for the SPL battle with Celtic which resumes at the weekend with a game against Motherwell, but it could take some time to forget this dramatic, if disappointing night.

The city of Manchester had never witnessed such an invasion, as 100,000 Rangers fans converged in the football-mad town ahead of kick-off.

The City of Manchester Stadium had surely never witnessed such a noise as the din created by the lucky 30,000 Light Blues who had managed to get their hands on a ticket.

A union flag planted on the majority of those seats beforehand gave a Last Night of The Proms feel to the occasion as the teams entered the impressive, if disappointingly small, arena.

The Zenit contingent did their bit to add to the atmosphere and the stadium shuddered as both sets of fans bounced simultaneously.

The omens, however, were all there for a Rangers win. As in 1972, the Ibrox side had beaten Sporting Lisbon, an Italian side - albeit Fiorentina and not Torino - and faced a Russian side in the final.

But this time the standard of opponent was superior.

To those who have followed Rangers' European trail this season, the pattern of play from kick-off had a familiar look about it.

Walter Smith's men surrendered possession as they retreated into their own half and the Russian side - slick, pacy, and technically superior - prodded and probed for the opener.

Playmaker Andrei Arshavin, back in the side after being suspended for the semi-final win over Bayern Munich, hammered a low drive into the sidenetting when he ought to have tested Neil Alexander.

Zenit defender Aleksandr Anyukov drilled in a 25-yard shot which had Alexander grasping gratefully at the second attempt.

The biggest let-off came just before the interval when Arshavin's cross from the left blatantly struck the hand of defender Kirk Broadfoot but referee Peter Frojdfeldt, who had a mostly fine game, chose to turn a blind eye.

Rangers had failed to trouble Zenit goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev at that stage.

Two minutes from the interval, after Jean-Claude Darcheville had been fouled by Denisov, Kevin Thomson's ham-fisted effort at the free-kick saw the ball crash off the wall before being eventually being knocked away.

Rangers came out for the second half in a more positive mode but Frojdfeldt appeared to even things up when, during a goalmouth melee, he ignored the ball striking Denisov's hand from Ferguson's toe-poke.

Sasa Papac rescued Alexander who lost a race with Arshavin, the defender heading the Zenit player's chip from 16 yards off the line, Thomson completing the rearguard action.

The tempo slowly increased, as did the noise from the stands, but Denisov's opener rattled the Ibrox side who escaped further punishment moments later when Zyrianov rattled the outside of the post.

Nacho Novo replaced Papac, Lee McCulloch came on for Brahim Hemdani and top scorer Kris Boyd replaced Steven Whittaker, Darcheville even lasted for 90 minutes. But it was to no avail.

Zyrianov's late goal was the icing on the cake for the St Petersburg side who deserved their win.

Rangers, though beaten, departed with their pride intact and now domestic challenges await at the end of this remarkable campaign. The treble is still in their sights.