Chris Sutton believes Philippe Clement’s decision to bring Abdallah Sima on for Rangers against Celtic impacted the game.
The former Hoops striker, whose controversial commentary on Sky Sports left Graeme Souness unimpressed [talkSPORT, 8 April], discussed the dramatic 3-3 Old Firm draw at Ibrox on It’s All Kicking Off the next day. He said the Senegal international’s arrival at half-time made a “huge impact” after the visitors dominated the first 45 minutes.
The Brighton loanee replaced Scott Wright at halftime, having only returned from three months out injured in the previous triumph over Hibs, but scored to tie the game at 2-2 and provoke what Sutton described as “absolute bedlam” in the fans.
He commented (45m 25s): “I thoroughly loved the game. Celtic dominated the first half and should have been out of sight, but Rangers changed at halftime, with Philippe Clement making a switch.
“We brought Adballah Sima on loan from Brighton, and he made a significant difference for Rangers. Rangers dominated the second half and eventually drew level 2-1 thanks to what I believed was a controversial penalty.
“2-2 and then the stadium was absolute bedlam.”
Brighton loanee makes significant difference for Philippe Clement at Rangers.
Despite the gallant battle back to take a point and Rabbi Matondo’s wonderful late third, there is a sense of what if after the final whistle, as there has been in so many recent Old Firm games.
Rangers’ poor first-half performance set them up for an unnecessarily uphill battle, with far too many crucial players falling short from the outset.
Scott Wright, who had lately impressed against Benfica, was contributing next to nothing, and while Sima shifted the momentum, Clement may have made the incorrect decision not to start the loanee after conceding he would be unable to complete the entire 90 minutes.
Thankfully, he was available at all after returning from a long hiatus to deliver a reminder of his importance to the team with his 16th goal of the season.
Sima’s lack of match fitness prevented him from being a certain starter, but his comeback for the title run could still be crucial.
GET MORE NEWS HERE
Leave a Reply