Frimpong’s joy should be available on the NHS
Ally’s haircut malfunction, Alex Rae’s hat, Jeremie’s infectious ‘Oh my days’ outburst and, best of all, no James Corden .. how BT Sport made my cup final Sunday fly by
“THAT’S appalling, I have to say. It’s a bad message to send to football” – Chris Sutton on Alex Rae’s hat.
A seething cauldron of hate. A vile hotbed of tension. A fiery contest between two bitter rivals.
And once Ally McCoist and Chris Sutton left their dressing room there was a cup final on.
To be precise, there was a ninehour marathon of cup final coverage.
Nine hours of TV in the wrong hands can be disastrous, as anyone who has seen the BBC’s Christmas Day schedule will confirm (seriously, Michael McIntyre AND Mrs Brown’s Boys? What do these people want us to do, talk to our families?).
After frequent complaints about Sky Sports not paying Scottish football enough attention it was refreshing to see a broadcaster devoting so much time to our game. This being Scotland, however, not everyone was satisfied.
Some fans deemed BT Sport’s coverage excessive and argued a final involving Kilmarnock and Hibs, wouldn’t receive the same treatment.
That might be true but no one was forced to watch the coverage. Besides it’s not as if anyone’s favourite BT Sport programme was cancelled to make way for the Old Firm (unless you’re a fan of obscure sports like speedway or the English Championship).
And consider the alternative. Had the game been shown on Sky Sports we’d have been treated to 12 minutes of build-up including an ad break and seeing the programme end with “Congratulations to Celwick, winners of the 2019/20 Bet365 Cup”.
We’re the first to complain about Sky’s underwhelming approach to Scottish football, so a national broadcaster caring “too much” about a game seems a bit ridiculous.
“What I Wore: Steven Gerrard” kicked off proceedings on BT Sport at 9am. It came too early to feature “Dejected expression from the 2019 Betfred Cup Final”.
At 9.15 it was time for “Old Firm
Carpool”, in which Alex Rae and Chris Sutton picked up Ally McCoist, Peter Grant, Kenny Miller, Alan Thompson and Ian Durrant to discuss their memories of the fixture. Clearly inspired by James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke it had plusses and minuses when compared to the original. On the minus side it lacked the budget that’s seen Corden team up with superstars like Adele, Sir Paul McCartney and Madonna. On the plus side it lacked James Corden. Viewers with Partick Thistle season tickets, meanwhile, were treated to the unusual sight of Kenny Miller looking interested. “Come on the Teddy Bears” tweeted Joey Barton, as he settled down to watch an Old Firm without being able to influence it. You know, like September, 2016 at Celtic Park. He wasn’t the only former Rangers midfielder tweeting about the Bears. Josh Windass, a man who requires an instruction manual when he buys socks, tweeted three bear emojis. This may have been him trying to say he wanted to watch Paddington.
With the Press hyping up the Alfredo Morelos v Odsonne Edouard battle during the build-up, it was unfortunate only one of the pair was able to take part. And even then that was just as a second-half replacement for Lewis Morgan.
In the end Celtic won thanks to one man’s heroics at the back. No matter how many times Rangers carved out chances, Morelos was there to ensure they were denied. Fraser Forster was decent too.
The only smile bigger than Jeremie Frimpong’s in his post-match interview was Forster’s when he realised it was Morelos who would be taking the penalty.
Frimpong’s interview, which basically amounted to “I know I got sent off but how amazing is football. OH MY DAYS”, was so infectious it could be treated by the NHS and so joyous it could be prescribed by them.
“I can’t really ask for more from my players,” said Steven Gerrard. A goal might have helped. Rangers will rue numerous spurned chances.
“This is up there with that famous night in Istanbul,” said Gerrard after walking up Hampden steps for the 2019-20 Betfred Moral Victory Cup.