The stark Rangers trait that emerged in Old Firm collapse as Celtic understood something Light Blues didn't
The former Rangers and Aston Villa star said the Ibrox side's second half capitulation was 'alarming'.
Ex Rangers defender Alan Hutton believes Celtic were more adaptable than Rangers in Sunday’s Old Firm Derby, which is what allowed them to get back into the game.
After a first half Youssef Chermiti brace, it looked as if there was only going to be one winner at Ibrox, however Celtic’s second half resurgence earned them a point through goals from Kieran Tierney and Reo Hatate. The result means that for the second weekend in a row, Hearts have extended the gap over their Glaswegian rivals, as they now sit six clear of Rangers and eight ahead of Celtic, who still have a game in hand.
It hasn’t been the first time this season where Rangers have conceded late to drop points and it could’ve been even worse for the Light Blues if it weren’t for a few second half saves from Jack Butland. In a match that perfectly epitomised the phrase ‘a game of two halves’, Hutton believes Rangers’ collapse towards the end of the game could be costly in terms of the title race.
Hutton on Rangers’ ‘alarming’ collapse
He told Premier Sports’ Scottish Football Social Club: “I thought they overran them in the first half, and everything was looking good. But fair play to Celtic in what they’ve done. They understand their problems, make changes at half-time. Rangers don’t react to it. They stopped getting those second balls in the second half. The momentum swung.
“Everybody says Rangers were terrible in the second half. From then on, it started to swing in Celtic’s favour. From this moment on, I don’t know if it was a nervousness that came into Rangers’ play or whatever, but I just felt they just let it go in that second half. The drop was quite stark and alarming.”
Hatate’s equaliser isn’t the first time this season Rangers have conceded at the death, as Stephen Welsh also recently scored a late header at Fir Park to salvage a point for Motherwell. After the match, manager Danny Rohl was also visibly frustrated with his team’s second half performance.
Rohl on Rangers’ second half display
He told BBC Sportsound: “At the moment, the feeling is more disappointment because you dropped two points after a 2-0 lead. It's not about 50 minutes, it's about longer. We had high intensity, we played really nice football, we found our space. It was great. In the second half, we were not clinical in possession.
“We made some wrong decisions then we lose the ball, we give them a little bit of momentum then they score early in the second half and then you know it's 2-1 and they have nothing to lose. Finally, it's a draw. It's always a little bit lucky for a team to get a late pen. This is normal, I would say it's the same when we get a pen late in the game.
“It's about the next game and we have to move on. We go again. We'll try next week in the cup game again a good performance and hopefully we can keep our performance over 90 minutes. There are still nine games to go, this is 27 points. All games now will be tough for all the teams. We believe until the end. This season, the decision making will be on the last matchday.”