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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
David McCarthy

Fashion Sakala in defiant Celtic goal claim as Rangers striker explains muted celebration

Fashion Sakala insisted he grabbed the goal that swept Rangers to the Scottish Cup Final and denied Celtic a Treble.

The Zambian international is adamant he got a touch on the ball that looked to have been diverted into his own net by Carl Starfelt to cap a 2-1 win after extra time.

And now Sakala is adamant Rangers have not given up hopes of their own Europa League, Scottish Cup and Premiership treble, despite trailing Celtic by six points with five games to go.

The striker, an extra-time sub for Kemar Roofe, said: “Yes, it is my goal. I definitely got the last touch. I was a little unsure at first and there was a bit of a misunderstanding why I didn’t celebrate straight away.

“The players were all running in different directions but it was a brilliant feeling to finally get the victory. We have had disappointing results in the last couple of matches against Celtic. I’m just happy and so proud of the team because of what we achieved.”

Rangers' Fashion Sakala celebrates the Scottish Cup win at full-time (SNS Group)

Sakala believes his side will carry their momentum from yesterday’s win – and the victory over Braga on Thursday – into the remainder of what he believes can be a truly special season.

He added: “We still have hopes and we want to try and get back to the top of the table. Hopefully this game will have special meaning for the club and the fans.

“It was beautiful at the end to share the moment with the fans. We always try to give something back to them because they are always there for us even in the bad moments.

“It was brilliant. We had a game against Braga three days ago and another 120 minutes here.

And he revealed that boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst had belief that he could cause damage to a tiring Celtic defence in extra time.

“The manager’s said quite a lot of things before I went on,” the 25-year-old said. “The main thing was that he believed in me.

“He said that he was taking off Roofe as he needed a rest but that he had belief in my qualities.

“One of the reasons the manager made the change was my speed.

“Because there were a lot of tired bodies he wanted to use my speed. They looked a bit tired and that is why we made the change.

“This is one of my best moments in football.“

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