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ANGE POSTECOGLOU appeared sharp upon his return to Glasgow, and Dejan ‘Decky’ Kulusevski made an impactful entrance.
Kulusevski, who came off the bench, was instrumental in rescuing his manager with a crucial late equalizer that annulled Hamza Igamane’s opening goal.
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Despite this, former Celtic manager Postecoglou narrowly escaped defeat at Ibrox, thanks to another old Bhoy, Fraser Forster, who executed an astonishing late save to deny Cyriel Dessers.
A loss would have deepened the crisis for Postecoglou’s injury-ravaged Spurs.
While their performance was less than stellar, they managed to secure a draw, providing a foundation to build upon.
Postecoglou remarked on Wednesday that the injury woes afflicting his squad are the worst he has encountered “by a fair stretch.”
Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, and Ben Davies joined Guglielmo Vicario, Wilson Odobert, Mikey Moore, and Richarlison on the injury list, leaving him significantly short on center-backs.
This predicament resulted in 18-year-old Archie Gray, a lifelong Celtic fan due to his family’s ardent support for the Bhoys, starting in central defense beside the last available option, Radu Dragusin.
The great-nephew of Scottish legend Eddie Gray is primarily a defensive midfielder.
Nevertheless, he has often been deployed as a full-back by Postecoglou and was shifted to the center for this match.
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Gray’s Celtic ties appeared to be largely unrecognized by the Gers fans, as could be inferred from his reception.
In contrast, Fraser Forster was very much known, receiving jeers throughout the match.
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Forster, stepping in for the injured Guglielmo Vicario, enjoyed a stellar career at Celtic Park, highlighted by a remarkable performance against Lionel Messi’s Barcelona in 2012.
The 36-year-old has filled in exceptionally well during Vicario’s absence, making a vital early save to thwart Nedim Bajrami.
While Forster looked sharp, his outfield teammates exhibited signs of sluggishness.
On two occasions, Gray attempted to push the ball forward but squandered possession with errant passes.
Similarly, Pedro Porro was culpable of a careless pass that sparked a Gers attack, leading to Mohamed Diomande sending his shot over the bar.
It is also best to forget Timo Werner’s attempt to control an accurate long ball from Forster.
Postecoglou’s choice to position his struggling captain Son Heung-min in the center while leaving £65million striker Dominic Solanke on the bench was somewhat questionable.
Unluckily for Son, he found it challenging to affect proceedings against Philippe Clement’s defense, which lost center-back John Souttar to injury just ten minutes prior to halftime.
This match seemed like a trip down memory lane for former England goalkeepers, with Jack Butland guarding the goal for the hosts and Forster manning the position for Spurs.
Butland’s distribution raised eyebrows despite making an essential save against Brennan Johnson, who was offside at that moment.
Spurs’ display was uninspiring while Rangers seemed powerless, aside from Forster’s decent save from Vaclav Cerny’s effort just before the break.
Postecoglou voiced legitimate concerns regarding his lengthy injury list, yet the team fielded in the match did possess a lot of talent.
If anything, the demanding game schedule and limited rotation resulted in a fatigued squad.
One player particularly lacking in confidence—and indeed quality—was Werner.
It came as little surprise when he was substituted at halftime, paving the way for star player Kulusevski to inject some much-needed energy into Postecoglou’s sluggish lineup.
Unfortunately, they did not awaken in time to prevent Igamane from calmly slotting home James Tavernier’s cross merely two minutes into the second half.
This goal sent Ibrox into a frenzy, with passionate fans cheering behind Forster’s goal.
The situation could have worsened just ten minutes later if not for Diomande’s low shot narrowly missing the post.
Meanwhile, Brennan Johnson squandered a key opportunity to level the scores, sending a cutback wide, visibly irking Postecoglou on the sidelines.
That moment marked Johnson’s last significant contribution as he was substituted out an hour into the match, with Dominic Solanke, Pape Sarr, and 18-year-old Lucas Bergvall taking his place in a triple substitution.
It felt like Spurs were on the verge of suffering the first defeat of a British team to a Scottish side in 18 years.
Nonetheless, Solanke delivered a pass across the box that James Maddison shielded expertly, allowing Kulusevski to net an equalizer.
This saved Postecoglou from a calamitous result, even if his beleaguered side appeared far from convincing on the pitch of his former rival.
