Danny Rohl cut a dejected figure after watching Rangers fall to another painful defeat against Celtic, this time in a Scottish Cup penalty shootout that ended their hopes of silverware at Ibrox.
Tomas Cvancara scored the decisive spot kick to send Celtic through to the Hampden semi-final, with James Tavernier and Djeidi Gassama both failing to convert for Rangers when the pressure was at its highest. The result leaves Rohl’s side facing the prospect of another trophyless campaign, while Celtic look ahead to a potential double-winning season under Martin O’Neill.
Rohl’s post-match interview got off to an unusual start when he was asked about the scenes that had erupted at full time. The Rangers manager said he had been in the tunnel and had not seen what happened, asking the reporter to explain what had occurred. When it was clarified that supporters from both ends had spilled onto the pitch and that there had been significant unrest, Rohl offered only that nobody wants to see that kind of thing in football.
On the result itself, he was clearly frustrated. He pointed to the shot count across 120 minutes, with Rangers having 21 attempts to Celtic’s four, and argued his side had been the better team throughout. He acknowledged that a shootout always carries an element of fortune but made clear he felt Rangers had not received the outcome their performance warranted. His closing message was brief: disappointment now, but they would go again the following week.
The defeat will sting deeply at Ibrox. Despite significant financial investment in trying to win a trophy this season, Rangers are now left with only the Premiership to play for, and they sit six points behind Hearts with the title race in its final stages. O’Neill, by contrast, has transformed Celtic’s season and could yet deliver a domestic double, a remarkable turnaround from the chaos that surrounded the club earlier in the campaign.