Southampton loanee Fraser Forster was the difference as Celtic beat Old Firm rivals Rangers in the Scottish League Cup final.
Rangers legend Barry Ferguson has admitted he was left heartbroken by an ‘unbelievable’ performance from Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster in Sunday’s Scottish League Cup final defeat to Celtic, speaking to the Daily Record.
Any Southampton supporters who tuned in to watch a pyrotechnical showdown at Hampden Park yesterday will have been wondering aloud just why on earth Forster was allowed to re-join Celtic on loan over the summer.
A former England shot-stopper who lost his way badly at St Mary’s has been arguably the best goalkeeper in the country in the last few weeks and his virtuoso display against Steven Gerrard’s dominant Gers side will go down in Hoops folklore.
Not only did Forster save Alfredo Morelos’ second-half penalty, he also made a series of stunning reflex saves – including a truly world-class stop to paw away a Ryan Jack piledriver that Gerrard himself would have been proud of – before Christopher Jullien netted the winner at the other end with Celtic’s only shot on target.
On another day, Rangers could have won by three or four goals and Ferguson was left wondering what might have been.
“I can’t believe Rangers came out of the Betfred Cup Final as losers,” said the former midfield maestro.
“Anyone who watched the match would have seen they were obviously the dominant team. But Celtic had one guy in unbelievable form.
“It was a colossal performance from Forster. He was unbelievable and some of the saves he made were right out the top drawer.
“Only an incredible display of goalkeeping deprived (Rangers) yesterday.”
On this evidence, Celtic will be praying that they are handed the chance to sign Forster on a permanent deal sooner rather than later. This is not the first time he has quite literally saved Neil Lennon’s side this season and probably not the last either.
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