Roofe seals return to Hampden as Stewart sees red

Rangers fight back from goal down despite dodgy VAR and poor pitch to book Hampden showdown with Celtic

THE woeful state of the Hampden pitch and VAR breaking down during the Viaplay Cup semi- final did little for the reputation of Scottish football. Yet, the compelling encounter between Rangers and Aberdeen yesterday, which the Ibrox club won 2- 1 after extra- time to book a final date with their Glasgow rivals Celtic next month, was certainly a great advertisement for the game in this country.

Michael Beale’s side dominated Jim Goodwin’s team in the first half of the encounter – but they allowed Bojan Miovski to net four minutes before half- time after momentarily switching off at the back.

James Tavernier and his team- mates redoubled their efforts and restored parity in the second half when Ryan Jack played a one- two with Alfredo Morelos and rifled a deflected shot into the bottom- right corner.

Pittodrie captain Anthony Stewart was shown a straight red card by referee Nick Walsh for a bad challenge on Fashion Sakala to put his side at a huge disadvantage going into the additional half an hour.

Sure enough, Rangers capitalised on their numerical superiority in the first period of extra time when substitute Kemar Roofe turned a Scott Wright cut- back beyond Kelle Roos.

It was an incident- packed, entertaining and controversial encounter which it was impossible to your eyes off for a second. Here are five talking points from the dramatic events in Mount Florida.

1

Raise the Roofe

If ever a player deserved to score a winner in a cup semifinal it was Roofe. The Jamaican internationalist has had a horrendous time with injuries this season. He had made just three appearances as a late substitute before yesterday and had failed to net in any of them.

However, he certainly made his presence felt after replacing Morelos with 16 minutes of regulation time remaining. He turned a Wright pass into the Aberdeen net with the deftest of touches. It was his first goal since his extra- time winner in the Europa League quarterfinal against Braga back in April and was a sweet moment for him. Beale is a huge admirer of the former Leeds United and Anderlecht man, who was Rangers’ leading scorer when they won the Scottish title back in 2021, and he was desperately disappointed when the 30- year- old had to come off after a heavy fall.

The match winner left the field clutching his left arm and looks set to spend another spell on the sidelines. It was a day of mixed emotions for him.

2

Doughty Dons

Aberdeen contributed hugely to the spectacle and could hold their heads high at the end despite the defeat they suffered. They defended bravely from kick- off to the final whistle. But they by no means parked the bus. Allan McGregor had to pull off a few fine saves too. How would they have fared if they had kept 11 men on the park for the duration of the encounter?

Scales felt that he had been punched in the head by Kent shortly after Stewart had seen red in injurytime and replays of the incident appeared to back up his claim.

VAR broke down for five minutes during the match according to the SPFL? Was it working at that stage in proceedings? If so, why was no action taken by Alan Muir? Goodwin refused to make much of it afterwards. But it was all a bit of a mess.

3

Dire defending

The softness of the goals that Rangers have conceded since he returned to Ibrox in November has concerned Beale. But whatever he is saying to his charges on the training ground at Auchenhowie is clearly not getting through. They will not enjoy watching the opener back.

Both Borna Barisic and Ben Davies switched off when Leighton Clarkson played a through ball to Miovski because they realised the Macedonian was offside. But Matty Kennedy hared through and pinched the ball from under their noses. He squared to his teammate who showed great composure to volley beyond McGregor.

It was the 23- year- old’s 13th goal of the 2022/ 23 campaign and he deserved it for having the good sense not to touch the ball. He has been £ 500,000 very well spent so far. That said, his strike owed more to poor play than his ability or intelligence. Beale has work to do.

Kemar Roofe scores the winner for Rangers before Anthony Stewart was sent off ( inset)

4

Stupid Stewart

Stewart had irked his manager in the build up to the final when he stated that he felt Antonio Colak was a better striker than Morelos.

And no wonder. Talk about giving your opponent an extra incentive to perform at his very best! Would the combustible Colombian, who started up front in the continued absence of his injured club- mate, ram the Englishman’s ill- advised words down his throat?

The forward had an opportunity to break the deadlock on the half hour mark after the Aberdeen skipper had cleaned out Kent. But his attempt was weak and off target.

Roos then kept his header out after he got on the end of a Barisic cross.

But Rangers’ all- time record European goalscorer, who has struggled to find both form and fitness since returning from a long- term injury lay- off, made his mark when he teed up Jack for the equaliser. Colak couldn’t have done any better.

Stewart led Aberdeen by example. He was outstanding in the air, read the game well and made several timely blocks. However, he let himself, his team, his manager and his supporters down when he scythed down Sakala needlessly in the third minute injury- time.

He protested his innocence after the match official had ordered him off and took some time to leave the field. But he could have no complaints whatsoever. Being reduced to 10 men at that stage in proceedings ultimately proved costly for his side.

5

Life’s a pitch

The monsoon- like conditions the first semi- final between Celtic and Kilmarnock was played in on Saturday evening did the playing surface at Hampden no favours whatsoever.

Ange Postecoglou, the winning manager, was far from happy and neither set of players today would have been overly impressed when they saw the condition of the park.

It was not exactly ideal for such a high- profile encounter. But it is harsh to criticise the groundsmen. There is only so much they can do if there is rain of biblical proportions.

Still, it is to be hoped there is a distinct improvement when the final is played next month.