Andy Halliday hasn't held back on his assessment of Fashion Sakala's antics in and around the League Cup final - but it was more than that leaving him surprised in Rangers' painful loss.
The Light Blues went down 2-1 losers to Celtic in 2023's Viaplay Cup showpiece but there was a golden opportunity for the Zambian forward to net at Hampden. He claimed Rangers were the better side pre-match and referred to their rivals as the 'other mob', but as Ryan Kent hit the post, Sakala could only fire wide with the goal gaping at 1-0 down.
It could have changed the game as Kyogo went on to net his second of the match soon after, with Alfredo Morelos' reply merely a consolation. Hearts and former Rangers midfielder Halliday was appearing on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard to review Sunday's drama and as part of a quickfire round of questions, was asked for his howler of the weekend, saying: "I have got to give the nod to Fashion Sakala, especially after his comments in the media.
"I have never been a fan of comments like that because it can always lead to biting you in the backside. At the time I thought it was at a tight angle and perhaps took a bobble off the pitch but watching it back, there's no way he should not score that goal."
There were other calls by boss Michael Beale that left Halliday perplexed. First was the decision not to start Raskin or bring him on at the break, then it was bringing Morelos off for Antonio Colak after his strike.
He explained: "The big shock for me was when the team line-up came out, there was a lot of doubt over whether Malik Tillman was fit, and I thought it was a bonus.
"But to see no Raskin was a real shock for me, I get it, he hasn't played a lot of football for a number of months but in the two games he has played he has looked very good. He has got Man of the Match in both.
"If we are talking about players who aren't really fit handing into a game, Malik Tillman hadn't trained in two weeks and John Lundstram hadn't for a month, and they still got the nod. So I think the omission of Raskin was a real shock for me.
"But then to not bring him on at half-time was an even bigger surprise, I thought that change would be made. Alfredo Morelos coming off the pitch was a real surprise, I would have kept it the way it was at that time in the game.
"Rangers had come on to it and I don't think he set the world alight with his performance, but he fed off scraps. What he had to do, he did ok, and he was just off the back of a goal where Rangers are gathering momentum, Morelos would have stayed on the pitch for me."
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