Two second half goals sealed our fate as Rangers won the first game in the group stage 2 0 at Fir Park.
The visitors kicked off facing the Cooper Stand but it was Motherwell that made the best of the early play. Johnson delivered a good cross from the left and Ainsworth connected to force Halliday to clear off the line. McDonald was next to try his luck when he pounced on a loose pass back but his shot was saved. And the stadum clock had yet to reach 5 minutes.
Rangers had their first attempt high of the bar and it was not until midway through the half that Samson was called into action to palm a Waghorn effort away for a corner.
Cadden and Johnson both came close before our best chance in the first period. An Ainsworth free kick set up McDonald at the far post but his weak shot was gathered by Foderingham.
We were forced to defend more as the break drew nearer but the whistle saw the teams into the dressing rooms at 0-0. We were to pay for the missed opportunities.
Rangers got the breakthrough goal three minutes into the second half. Tavernier collected a cut back and curled the ball beyond Samson. Forrester was booke as he ended Johnson's run through the centre. We had to thank the woodwork two minutes later as Forrester hit the bar.
McGhee started his substitutions with Moult for Chalmers on the hour and followed up with Thomas for Ainsworth then Blyth for Cadden as we pushed more and more for the equaliser. Moult missed the target with a free header and it began to look like one of those afternoons.
The scoreboad had already signalled the end of normal time when Waghorn gave the visitors a 2-0 lead.
If we are to qualify for the knockout stage of the competion it looks like we'll need to be one of the best placed runners-up for the eight groups.
Motherwell 0 Rangers 2
Team: Samson, Tait, Hammell, Heneghan, McManus, Ainsworth (Thomas 66), McHugh, Johnson, Cadden (Blyth 79), Chalmers (Moult 59), McDonald