Celtic 1 theRangers 2 (after extra time)
This can only be looked upon as a major heartbreak as a look at all the disappointed faces at Hampden would indicate. And we can only really blame ourselves. There were two major reasons:
1. Too many players simply off form – Rogic, Abada, Jota, Maeda and Hatate spring to mind, and that frankly is too many to be carrying. Rogic was particularly disappointing from the start, and one wonders whether he was totally fit.
2. A curious lack of fitness. Every single period of play saw (the)Rangers finishing undeniably the stronger side, with the only time that we looked on top being the ten minutes after we scored. In a game where there is very little difference between the teams in technical ability, things like who gets to the ball first, and who basically show the greater appetite become crucial.
Possibly it was complacency or over-confidence – but we have certainly paid the penalty, and it mustn’t happen again. One hopes that the players are hurting every bit as much as the fans.
The buses home were desolate, soulless places tonight. A support like ours does deserve better.
And so we are out of our favourite tournament, the Scottish Cup. The League, everyone tells me, is more important. Maybe so, but today has to be looked at as a major wake-up call. We now have a week to sort things out before we go to Ross County next Sunday, a game that now assumes far more importance. We have to approach this game with determination that we are not to have another day like today.
Today was awful, horrible in all its intensity, not least in creating the possibility that we may be about to throw away the League as well. Make no mistake about it, if we play like we did today, it is a real possibility.
We cannot really blame Bobby Madden, I’m afraid. He did not have a great game, but it is simply not good enough to blame everything on the referee. The fault lies closer to home. Sort it out, Ange!
But we are all in this together. Let us forget it, rally and fight back.
David Potter
