TIME TO SETTLE A FEW SCORES SAYS
Sinclair is a great role model for young stars and no diver. He was pulled down on Sunday CHRIS DAVIES
IF Scott Sinclair does nothing else with his life, he can comfort himself with the knowledge that, for three full days, he has managed to divide public opinion to a greater extent than Russell Brand, Jeremy Clarkson and the Kardashians combined.
It says much for the brouhaha that has stemmed from the penalty award the Celtic winger gained while under pressure from Cedric Kipre on Sunday that the historical significance of Brendan Rodgers winning four straight domestic trophies at the outset of his Celtic tenure has been somewhat lost.
The mercury at Fir Park tonight for the second part of the trilogy between the clubs can do as it pleases. The fallout from the 58th-minute flashpoint in the Betfred Cup final will guarantee the atmosphere remains white hot.
Anyone anticipating the matter to be resolved with accord and unanimity any time soon is liable to be disappointed. Football, by its very nature, is controversial and imperfect. The futility in arguing over indeterminate matters has never stopped debates lasting long into the night. And nothing is likely to change too much in the future.
If Motherwell were perfectly entitled to outline the case for the prosecution in the aftermath of the final, Celtic were yesterday cast in the role of Sinclair’s defence team.
Chris Davies would have done a QC proud as he put forward his argument that the penalty and red card referee Craig Thomson awarded were, in fact, fully justified.
‘I think what you have to look back at is the context of everything,’ said Davies (right).
‘Scott has been up here now 16 months and is a player who isn’t known for these types of incidents.
‘To make it clear, for me and us, it was a penalty. There was contact. There wasn’t an attempt to play the ball. He was pulled down. He went down.
‘As was mentioned yesterday, the manager has known Scott since he was 16 years old. It’s a long time. And the manager has said himself the whole time he has known him Scott would never turn down the opportunity to score. He knows he’s not on penalties. Moussa is on penalties when he’s on the pitch. So Scott knew he wasn’t going to get the penalty. ‘In training, he is hungry for goals. That’s why he has an incredible return as a winger. He is a goalscorer. He gets in there to score.’ Kipre’s arm did, at one point, come across Sinclair’s chest. Without any question, some degree of contact was made. The issue which is harder to determine is the degree of force that was used. In Sinclair’s view, it was sufficient enough to impede him. Others, Neil Lennon and Chris Sutton among them, begged to differ. While the matter is clearly never going to change the outcome of the game now, there must be a danger that it might scuff Sinclair’s reputation. Next time around, the benefit of the doubt may not be his. ‘We’ve worked with him in England and up here,’ continued Davies. ‘It’s not something that he’s known for. I’m not worried about referees taking this view of Scott. ‘He’s a very honest and hardworking player. A great role model for young players. ‘He’s absolutely fine. For us, it’s a non-story.’ In such circumstances, managers, players and coaches revert to a different game. That of circling the wagons. You would scarcely expect Dedryck Boyata to castigate Sinclair for the moment that confirmed Celtic would retain the trophy and the Belgian cited his first-hand experience of the player as evidence of his innocence. ‘If you know Scott Sinclair, even if you put two men on top of his back and he has the opportunity to score, he will score. He will never fall down,’ insisted Boyata. ‘I’m speaking from experience. If he is in front of goal and you try to pull him down, he is going to stand up.’
If Motherwell were entitled to feel hard done by at the award of the penalty, Kipre’s presence on the field beyond the early stages of the match owed something to good fortune.
The Frenchman’s early tackle on Moussa Dembele was high and dangerous. At the very least, it was worthy of a booking.
‘Obviously, the link is it was the same player who was involved (in the penalty),’ said Davies.
‘What I’m saying is that this (penalty) incident shouldn’t overshadow how dominant we were and how much we deserved to win the game.
‘If anything, there’s a debate whether that player should even have been on the pitch at that point, which completely turns the tables.’
There was never much prospect of the game ending in warm handshakes and hearty congratulations all round.
Losing a final few expected them to win was one thing. To see their diminishing hopes taken away by such a contentious award has left Motherwell feeling irked and wounded.
Becoming the first Scottish side in 66 games to defeat Rodgers’ men tonight won’t turn back the clock, but it will allow Stephen Robinson’s men to turn the page.
‘It’s really down to their players, their mentality,’ added Davies. ‘What we’ve managed to do for the time we’ve been here is to focus on ourselves.
‘And our mentality will be to bring a bigger intensity to the game, bring more quality to the game, bring our performance level up, so that, in the event theirs increased, we’d still be ahead. The message has been to focus on ourselves.’
Three meetings in a week is hardly ideal from anyone’s point of view, but the quirk in scheduling is only down to the success of both sides reaching Sunday’s final and the consequent need for a scheduled league game to be postponed.
Boyata is happy to distance himself from those groaning about the staleness of the schedule.
This time last year, the man who turned 27 yesterday was a forgotten figure.
Pounding the treadmill at Lennoxtown at midnight in the hope of getting a chance under Rodgers, the prospect of featuring in three games in seven days against anyone seemed distant.
‘That is why I will never complain about playing,’ he said. ‘I have come from far, and I am just enjoying the moment, so I can’t even criticise about playing the same team three times. For me, that is good. I don’t care.
‘We know from the final that Motherwell are a good team and a hard team to play against. They have just lost the cup.
‘They will want to win that game and make it difficult for us. It is a game we will have to take very seriously.’