In the end, all the joy, tears, agony and ecstasy came down to one kick of the ball. 

Aaron Ramsey, the single player you’d have wagered to stand up tall on the occasion, sent his penalty down the throat of Kevin Trapp in the Eintracht Frankfurt goal. It was a gift gratefully received by the impressive keeper who cleared with his feet comfortably. 

The history books will tell you it was the German’s most significant save of the night, but that would be to miss the moment this match truly turned on its head. 

That came in the 118th minute. 

Kemar Roofe, full of energy after a late introduction picks up the ball out wide after expertly navigating Frankfurt’s offside trap. He manages to wriggle into just enough space to spin the ball across the face of the goal. It's a delicious cross. 

Ryan Kent bursts into the box to meet it. The goal is gaping. Time stands still.  

If you freeze-frame the moment, from the second the ball leaves Roofe’s foot it looks like a goal is certain.

The chances of that only seem to increase as the video shuttles forward. It has to be a goal.  

It is not. 

Make no mistake, this is a moment that will be picked over and discussed for generations to come. Long after this writer has shuffled off his mortal coil, some plucky hack will no doubt be tracking down the septuagenarian Kent to ask him to relive it for his umpteenth regurgitation.

And you can bet your life he will remember it with exactly the clarity it lives in his brain in this very moment. Such scars run deep and are not easily shaken from the wounded psyche. 

It’s a great save by Trapp but in truth, the winger would be expected to score nine times in ten. It’s a substantial chance in a game when few appeared.  

READ MORE: Every word deflated Giovanni van Bronckhorst said as he insists Rangers 'deserved' trophy

But the danger isn’t over for the Herr Trapp and the Germans. 

The ball rebounds back to Steven Davis whose connection is perfect. Like a missile, the shot is arrowing into the top corner before a defender extends his neck muscles just enough to add the merest of touches with the very tip of his bonce. Every sinew is stretched to get there, neck muscles bulging. It’s enough to spin the ball skyward by a foot and narrowly over the bar. 

Frankfurt had survived to fight another day by the skin of their teeth. A fight they would sadly win. 

If either chance goes in, the game is over and Rangers lift the trophy as genuine immortals. 

It is on these tightest of margins that history is made, and European trophies are raised. 

We can debate about the finer points of the game; should Kemar Roofe have been brought on earlier instead of the ineffectual and subbed as a sub Fashion Sakala? Was the move to a back three from the start not the wisest way to release the quality of James Tavernier on the flanks? 

In truth, Giovanni van Bronckhorst deserves deferment on such issues. He’s proven his tactical chops beyond any reasonable doubt and his players left nothing out on that Seville pitch. 

It was a coin-flip game and was settled on infinitesimal margins. 

While the supporters will be sore from the stinging pain of defeat, the primary feeling should be pride in what’s been achieved to get to this point. 

Rangers have faced adversity on a grand scale - the disparity in budget to their lavish spending Bundesliga rivals not being enough, fate chose to add in a succession of cruel injuries to the mix.  

Our two main strikers are out? No problem. They were to find a way, a tactical solution to every problem. 

It looked like they had done it again as the clock ticked down with two minutes left -  the introduction of Roofe the patented managerial masterstroke and Kent, the team’s best player, the fitting hero. 

It was all there. And then it was not. 

Such is football, sometimes the beautiful game can also be the cruellest.