Michael Beale wasn’t the only one who failed to walk the walk after talking so much about how he wants his Rangers team to play, Fashion Sakala, after claiming that we were a “much better” team than Celtic, really had to put on a performance but, instead, fluffed his lines to be a hero.
Early into the second half, Ryan Kent was played into a good shooting position and fired his effort against the post, both Alfredo Morelos and Sakala were up with play but, when the ball broke to the Zambian, he neither showed the composure to square the ball for his teammate or capitalise on the chance himself. To make matters worse, Celtic made it 2-0 not long after. A picture paints a thousand words.
This is the problem that the whole squad seems to have. They are capable of being brilliant, but they are also capable of being rank rotten. Sakala could have taken a touch and still have managed to get a shot away instead of slicing it into the side netting.
These are the moments that make the difference in cup finals. For their first goal, Daizen Maeda sclaffed an effort straight into the path of Kyogo Furuhashi but, the striker had to be there to get the goal – they have an attacking intent that we don’t have just now with our midfield and players like Kent too focused on playing safe or creating rather than gambling and maybe getting a tap-in. Kyogo’s last three goals against us have come from a combined distance of about 10 yards and he has done nothing apart from deliver when it mattered.
Like Beale, the time for talking and apologising is long gone, actions will always speak louder than words.