Adam proves his point as Rangers beat Stuttgart

The midfielder paid the price for a poor performance in a qualifier against FK Zeta back in July and his involvement since then had been limited to a cameo role in the return leg in Montenegro.

He was thrown back into the top team at Ibrox tonight in place of the suspended Lee McCulloch and made the most of the opportunity by cancelling out Mario Gomez's opener before Jean-Claude Darcheville secured the win from the penalty spot.

Stuttgart have never won on Scottish soil and that record continued tonight, with Rangers putting crucial points on the board before facing Barcelona and Lyon in their forthcoming Group E matches.

Rangers were handed a boost ahead of kick-off with the news that Barry Ferguson had been passed fit to play. The Gers skipper had been a doubt ahead of the match, after aggravating a knee injury in training, but took his place in the starting line-up much to the relief of the 49,795 fans at Ibrox.

Brahim Hemdani was also given the nod, finding himself in the bizarre situation of having started every European game even though his domestic involvement has not extended beyond the first game of the season at Inverness.

It was Rangers who were under pressure in the opening minutes when Roberto Hilbert tried to pick out Gomez with a dangerous cross from the right. Carlos Cuellar intercepted but his clearance smacked off the post on the way out of play as nerves around the stadium jangled.

Ricardo Osorio then tested Allan McGregor with a weak close-range effort before the Rangers goalkeeper appeared to be beaten by a drive from Gomez which fizzed across goal and wide.

At the other end, Ferguson was the provider for Steven Whittaker but his header dipped just over the crossbar from eight yards, failing to trouble Raphael Schafer in the Stuttgart goal.

Rangers gradually began to grow in confidence and Adam tried his luck with an ambitious half-volley from 35 yards, which fell just over the crossbar.

Adam then set up Ferguson for the header in front of goal only for the skipper to glance wide of target as the home side cranked up the pressure on their visitors.

The best chance of the game so far fell to Darcheville, who looked certain to open the scoring. He charged into the box, shrugging off the defenders bearing down on him from either side, only for Schafer to somehow keep his point-blank shot out of the net.

Rangers attempted to grab the game by the scruff of the neck after the break and Ferguson released Whittaker down the right flank with a well-placed pass.

However, Darcheville failed to read the move and make the necessary run into the box, forcing Whittaker to go it alone, his angled drive easily smothered.

There was concern for Rangers when Ferguson suffered a head knock and was forced out of the action for almost five minutes to receive treatment, during which time Stuttgart took advantage of their extra man and surged into the lead.

Gomez demonstrated exactly why he was named Germany's player of the year last season by helping himself to the opener after 55 minutes.

Sami Khedira's pass may have initially been intended for Cacau but he remained static, while Gomez made the run before flicking past McGregor into the back of the net.

Undeterred, Rangers were back on level terms seven minutes later. Alan Hutton's superb run took him past four red shirts before setting up Adam, who gleefully lashed past the helpless Schafer.

Stuttgart tried to hit back through Cacau but the Brazilian hitman was denied by the foot of McGregor, before Whittaker rifled wide at the other end.

Rangers were then gifted the lead when Italian referee Stefano Farina pointed to the spot after a clumsy challenge from Stuttgart skipper Fernando Meira on Hutton.

Darcheville stepped up to blast past Schafer from 12 yards with 74 minutes gone and Ibrox erupted as Rangers secured a crucial victory on match day one.

Walter Smith praised his side's character and said: "In the early stages Stuttgart showed the quality they have and we had to work extra hard. I can't speak too highly of my players. Every one of those players fought hard."