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Charlie on a Friday: Overwhelming pride at Ryan's cup success


By Staff Reporter

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There can be little doubt that the man of the match in last Sunday’s Scottish League Cup Final was Celtic Goalkeeper Fraser Forster who was simply outstanding.

It reminded me very much of a period some time ago when, time after time, Andy Goram was the scourge of Celtic who often dominated Old Firm games at that time but couldn’t find a way past the Ibrox number one.

Rangers certainly had their opportunities to score but Forster’s display allied to some resilient defending after going down to 10 men saw the team in green and white take their tenth consecutive domestic trophy – a quite phenomenal feat!

It was a proud moment watching Ryan going up to collect his winners' medal. Pictures: Ken Macpherson
It was a proud moment watching Ryan going up to collect his winners' medal. Pictures: Ken Macpherson

Sunday’s victory was their 31st consecutive win in domestic cups and that is a feat I would seriously doubt will ever be matched, and there is still the Scottish Cup to come this season!

In quite torturous conditions Rangers started the final on the front foot with two very early corners and that set the tone for almost the entire first half with Celtic struggling to piece together their passing game and cause Rangers back four any serious problems.

The second half started more evenly and when fans’ favourite Odsonne Edouard entered the pitch just before the hour mark the green and white faithful felt that the tide could be turned and within minutes they were ahead.

A top class delivery from a difficult wide area from son Ryan saw Christopher Julian side foot home to send the fans behind that goal into raptures.

However their joy was short lived when Alfredo Morelos earned Rangers a penalty within three minutes. The decision from Willie Collum also saw a rather harsh red card shown to youngster Jeremy Frimpong and the odds were now heavily stacked for a Rangers win.

However a poor spot kick and 30 minutes of pure graft from the 10 men in green and white hoops saw the club from the East End of Glasgow come out on top and keep that quite sensational record going.

I had an overwhelming feeling of pride shortly after the final whistle watching Ryan collect his third top flight cup winners’ medal and although it wasn’t his finest game in a Celtic shirt he worked his socks off once his team went down to 10 men and certainly played his part in a historic day.

The next Old Firm encounter on December 29 promises to be a real feisty affair and it is difficult to know if last Sunday’s match will have any bearing on how that game unfolds.

In the Scottish Championship ICT continued our resurgence with a convincing home win over Ayr to make it three wins out of three and there is now a welcome bit of space between us and Arbroath who sit just outside the play off spots.

Miles Storey and Jordan White scored the goals as Inverness defeated Ayr United in the Championship last weekend.
Miles Storey and Jordan White scored the goals as Inverness defeated Ayr United in the Championship last weekend.

League leaders Dundee United continued their impressive form with a hard fought midweek win at Morton and the Tannadice side last suffered a league defeat on Saturday, October 19 – a fantastic run of form which has seen them open up a 10 point gap at this stage.

That gap is going to be difficult but not impossible to close and the pre season title favourites are going to have to suffer a significant drop in form to give ourselves and others the opportunity to catch them.

They have won all their home league matches so far and, with the resources they work with, it is difficult to see them having a significant downturn but it is important we place ourselves in a position to take full advantage if they do so.

The hard work for ICT resumes at Firhill tomorrow against Ian McCall’s Partick Thistle who will have been buoyed by their late win at Queen of the South last weekend and will provide a stiff test. With two home matches to follow it is important we continue our good form to maintain that breathing space between second and third.


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