Dejected Craig Levein may have had no idea “what the hell happened” in Rangers’ opening game at Hampden, but Cyriel Dessers insists there is no room for debate.
The Nigerian scored the goal that gave the defending champions the go-ahead in Saturday’s Premier Sports Cup match against Levein’s St Johnstone at the National Stadium. However, the goal was only awarded after another chaotic VAR delay. Initially it was disallowed by referee Matthew MacDermid for a foul on Perth defender Jack Sanders, but it was then awarded after the referee was sent to the screen to review the incident on the monitor.
The actual altercation between Dessers and his Saints opponent was relatively easy to resolve, as there was clearly no foul by the Rangers striker. More difficult to unravel were the claims that MacDermid blew his whistle before the Gers striker fired his shot into Josh Rae’s goal.
The referee certainly signalled a foul with his arms, but while the SFA insisted in a statement that there was no whistle, Levein says his St Johnstone players insist they heard a squeak and that’s why they stopped before Dessers started. It was chaos, but for Dessers there is a perfectly clear explanation for the whole episode.
The 29-year-old told his version of events: “I saw a through ball from Rabbi. I saw it coming my way so I leaned forward and as I was running I felt a big foot on my ankle. But instead of going down and maybe asking for a penalty or a free kick, I went through, overtook the other defender and was able to score.
“When I was celebrating, I saw that everyone had stopped. So I looked around and saw that the referee had blown his whistle, I don’t know what. I was a bit surprised because for me not much was happening at that stage.
“I think he cleared the goal so my feeling was right. For me there was absolutely no foul because I wasn’t trying to bring him down or anything. My foot was on the ground and his foot was on mine so I think he was on the ball earlier and in the trajectory of the ball.
“So I think it was a fair goal. I was surprised (that the referee called a foul against me). I told him that too. Please look at it because if it was a foul, I felt the foul was on my side and then maybe it’s a penalty – I don’t know if it was near the line or inside or outside the box. He said he would check it, so of course I let him do his job.”
There was relief at half-empty Hampden when the goal finally gave the green light. Philippe Clement’s men had been waiting for an early breakthrough to relieve the pressure that has built up on this Light Blues line-up since Tuesday’s costly Champions League exit to Dynamo Kyiv.
But despite creating plenty of chances in the first half, they were forced to trudge down the tunnel at half-time with the score still goalless. Dessers’ strike broke the tension and Ross McCausland’s stoppage-time chip secured a 2-0 win and Gers’ place in the quarter-finals.
“It was great,” said Dessers of the result. “I’ve been here for a year now and every game is great. You recognize a good team after a difficult moment and of course Tuesday was a difficult moment for us. But if you can get a result and get into the next round, you’ve done your job well.”
Dessers is doing his part. The striker, who scored 22 goals last season, has started this season in composed form, scoring three goals. The former Feyenoord star – who came on at half-time to replace returning striker Danilo – also played his part in McCausland’s decisive goal. He said: “Of course it’s a good feeling to score again. It’s always a pleasure.”
“But it’s also an important goal that takes us through to the next round. We have some good memories from last season’s League Cup. I’m glad we started the same way. Personally, I’m pretty happy with my performances so far.
“I think I’m doing what the manager asked me to do in terms of working for the team, all the little things and details that I don’t want to bother you with! But I think I’m doing what he asked me to do. Of course, I’m happy when I’m at the end of some attacks, score some goals and provide some assists.”
“Last season I scored three goals in October. It’s only mid-August, so this is a good step forward. I want to continue like this and I think I can. I feel confident and good.”
