Michael Beale believes if Rangers had won the Old Firm derby it would have been a fair result as he rued the goals his side lost.
It was a back-and-forth affair at Ibrox when Daizen Maeda's early strike for Celtic sealed a nightmare start for Beale's men before a second-half turnaround completed in the space of just five minutes brought the derby to life. First, Ryan Kent fired an unstoppable effort past Joe Hart before captain James Tavernier sealed his 100th career goal from the spot after Fashion Sakala won a penalty.
It looked like Beale was heading for a huge triumph over Ange Postecoglou's men before Kyogo levelled with just two minutes to play to end the thrilling derby in a statement. The Englishman admits his team let in 'poor' goals but said the ability for Rangers to compete evenly with the Hoops showed him the improvement he needed to see in Glasgow.
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Beale told Sky Sports: “The two goals are poor goals from us to give away. We actually started the game well and then gave away a goal. It took us ten or fifteen minutes to find ourselves again and we did that. I didn’t want the half-time to whistle to come to be honest.
“We had the chances with Morelos and Kent and you’re thinking at half time we need to show a little bit more belief. I didn’t think there was much in the game, we get ourselves 2-1 and we’re in control of the game. They didn’t get near Allan and we have a big chance to go 3-1 with Malik and we don’t take it.
“I’m disappointed but I saw a lot of good things today, I saw players committed to the cause. I would like us to show a bit more quality in possession but in the second half we were better. If we had won the game, I think it would have been fair so we’re disappointed.
“We certainly got more players in our squad to help. We will get fitter and stronger as we go. The big thing is we’ve only been back together a few weeks and we’re already at the level we can compete with the team we have to compete with. Now we need consistency in all the other games.”
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