SAKALA WAS A HERO AND VILLAIN ON DAY OF MIXED EMOTIONS
AFTER hauling Rangers level with his first Old Firm goal, Fashion Sakala slid along the Celtic Park touchline on his knees as he soaked up the acclaim of 800 delirious away fans.
But the mercurial Zambia international’s moment of unbridled ecstasy would ultimately give way to agony at Parkhead.
Handed two big chances to win the game and keep the Premiership title race alive, the pacy but erratic forward saw his first shot saved by Joe Hart and then crashed another effort off the post.
Had either effort gone in to win the game, Rangers would have moved to within three points of Celtic with three league games remaining and the pressure would have been placed firmly upon the leaders.
Sakala blew it, however, and the 25-year-old knew it.
‘My goal was a very special goal,’ he told Sky Sports after the 1-1 draw. ‘It was very important for the team but I think I could have done better with the (other) chances that I had. I tried my best.
‘The most important thing for us was (to get) the three points.
‘That’s what we were looking for. We did not come here for a draw.
‘The only thing we wanted was a win. We knew how important the game was for us.
‘It’s unfortunate (we did not get the three points).’
Sakala was pleased with the character shown by Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side as they recovered from Jota’s opening goal to dominate the match. So much so that Celtic recorded just one shot on target.
‘It was very important (not to fall further behind),’ he said.
‘At half-time we talked about it. We had a very good conversation that we should come back in the second half. We made chances and we tried our best.
‘It’s always difficult to come and play here but I think we really gave everything and we tried, especially in the second half. I think we gave 100 per cent.’
A second successive Premiership title is now beyond Rangers barring a collapse by Celtic of Devon Loch proportions.
But Van Bronckhorst’s side will be looking to bounce back in style by reaching a European final.
RB Leipzig visit Ibrox on Thursday night in the last four of the Europa League and they arrive in Glasgow holding a slender 1-0 lead from the first leg in Germany.
For Croatia international left-back Borna Barisic, yesterday was bittersweet but the importance of the Leipzig match cannot be understated.
‘We have mixed emotions after our good reaction in the second half,’ said Barisic, who was caught napping at Jota’s opening goal.
‘I think we played much better and created a couple of very good chances which we didn’t score.
‘Unfortunately, in the first half we conceded that goal. At the end it was 1-1 and yes we are very disappointed.’
He told Rangers TV: ‘We needed the three points. This was a chance to connect with them (Celtic) in the league table. But we didn’t do that.
‘Listen, Thursday is now our biggest game of the season. We know what we need to do. We know how they play but we know how they played in Germany will be different at Ibrox.
‘We can’t wait for that game to show energy, to show desire, to try to qualify for the final.
‘We know the fans will help our performance, for sure.
‘It’s on us now to perform on Thursday.
‘The fans will be behind us like always. I expect a very, very good atmosphere and we will see what happens.
‘But we will give everything to win the game.’
In addition to Sakala’s wastefulness in front of goal, Ryan Kent missed a great chance in the first half and Joe Hart made a wonderful save from Scott Arfield.
Ally McCoist felt Rangers lacked striking options yesterday, with Joe Aribo playing out of position through the middle with firstchoice forward Alfredo Morelos out for the rest of the season and Kemar Roofe and Aaron Ramsey injured.
McCoist hopes Van Bronckhorst has Ramsey and Roofe fit again and ready to face Leipzig on Thursday as Rangers aim to reach a first European final since the UEFA Cup in 2008.
The Ibrox icon said: ‘In the second half I thought Rangers were excellent and the longer the game went on the stronger Rangers became.
‘Sakala took too long for the one he hits the post with. He should score but he is a bit unlucky.
‘If he takes a touch early it gives him the opportunity to drive it across the face of goal. It just gets caught in his feet a little bit.
‘But if Rangers can get Ramsey and Roofe available it will make a big difference to their chances on Thursday.’
Listen, Thursday is now our biggest game of the season