IT wasn’t Alfredo Morelos or Antonio Colak that was Rangers’ most effective striker at Hampden. The hero was the man that Anthony Stewart didn’t consider as the Aberdeen captain became the villain.
Stewart caused something of a stooshie this week after claiming that Colak was a ‘better striker’ than Morelos. Asked a straightforward question at an event with captains of all four semi-finalists to promote these matches, the Englishman provided an honest answer and was rebuked in public and private.
He will have more explaining to do now. His actions spoke louder than his words as he was complicit in Aberdeen’s defeat and the bus journey home will have provided plenty of time for reflection for Stewart after his red card undermined his side.
The sight of Kemar Roofe scoring to send Rangers into the Viaplay Cup final will be engrained in the mind of the defender. Roofe wasn’t name checked by Stewart on Thursday but it was the returning forward, a man who has been something of a forgotten figure, that rose to the occasion at Hampden and secured victory for Michael Beale’s side after Ryan Jack cancelled out a Bojan Miovski opener.
The row, if you can call it that, over Stewart’s comments had added another layer of intrigue to the build-up to this fixture. There was something very Scottish football about the whole episode, but it was difficult to see what all the fuss was about and such dramas are certainly not bad for business.
Beale refused to be drawn into it the following day, while Jim Goodwin scalded his skipper for voicing an opinion as he addressed the ‘regrettable’ comments and had a behind-closed-doors word in Stewart’s ear about how he speaks in public. In truth, it wasn’t exactly the hardest hitting of takes from Stewart as he seemingly broke one of the unwritten rules of the game with his observation.
"For me, they are two completely different strikers,” Stewart said. “I do rate one better than the other... I would say that Colak is a better striker than Morelos, in my opinion.
"Just their whole round game. I've played against both of them and I can give my opinion on it. I analyse and watch both of their clips and I kind of know what sort of game to put up against them."
In the end, Stewart only had to worry about facing one of them. Morelos would likely have started regardless of the fitness of Colak but the Croatian didn’t even make the squad and he still has just 45 minutes of action under Beale to his credit.
Rangers would have been significantly worse off had it not been for Colak during the first half of the campaign but he hasn’t got going since the World Cup break. Given how highly Beale has spoken about Roofe in recent weeks, it will be interesting to see just how Colak fits into the blueprint once he is over his latest injury setback.
"[Colak] has had a frustrating time of it since before I came in,” Beale said pre-match at Hampden. “I feel for the lad, he's not had time to work with myself. We thought he was back, he's had another slight problem. It's not a big one, he'll be out for a week to 10 days.”
The theory behind the fall out was that Morelos would use the statement as motivation to prove a point. If it took an innocuous answer to get Morelos firing for a semi-final then it says more about the striker than anything else and he owed Rangers a performance regardless of what had been said and by whom.
All eyes were on the battle between Morelos and Stewart but it took more than a quarter of an hour for them to get up close and personal. The opening stages saw the pair size each other up but it was Morelos that landed the first blow as he clattered into the defender and bundled him over as he chased down the ball on the edge of the area.
The duals were fought with no ground conceded and Liam Scales had as much to contend with as Stewart as Morelos occupied the Dons defence. At the other end of the park, Stewart should have done better as he failed to get a proper connection on a cross and a chance to open the scoring was spurned as Rangers scrambled clear.
His most telling intervention in the first half came at just the right moment. James Tavernier crossed from the right and Stewart used his body well to deny Morelos as he looked to test Kelle Roos from 12 yards.
Within seconds, Aberdeen had scored as Miovski finished superbly and capitalised on another series of unfathomable defensive decisions – with Borna Barisic and Ben Davies culpable – to reward the Dons for their continued improvement in a compelling encounter.
Morelos had grown into the match as well, but his efforts were thwarted and he would have been a frustrated figure in the dressing room as Beale delivered another crucial team talk.
The Colombian did have some encouraging moments. A header that Roos saved just in time – as confirmed by referee Nick Walsh as he pointed to his watch – was the closest Morelos came as Fashion Sakala saw a header clip the post and looked the most likely of the forwards to find the net with a series of near misses.
When the goal finally came on the hour mark, it was a midfielder that inflicted the damage on the Dons. Morelos had a hand in it, though, and the assist will be marked against his name as - with Stewart stranded out wide - he knocked the ball to Jack and watched on as it took a huge deflection off Scales on its way beyond Roos.
With 18 minutes remaining, the sideshow was brought to a premature end. As Glen Kamara replaced Malik Tillman, Roofe took over from Morelos as he trudged off and into the stands.
Stewart and the Dons defence now had a very different problem to solve. The skipper blocked the first cross that Roofe tried to dink into the area and the partnership was untested as the Jamaican operated up top with Sakala and Kent continued to search for pockets of space to add an end product to his endeavour.
Morelos would have no further say in proceedings. Soon, neither would Stewart as he joined the striker in the stands after a moment of madness that will take far more explaining and apologising than some press conference comments.
An injury time lunge that launched Sakala into the air was as crude as it was needless and his protests were always going to be in vain. Beale glanced towards the stopper as he ran towards the tunnel but Goodwin didn’t shift his focus as he came to terms with a moment of stupidity from the man he entrusted with the armband when he moved from Wycombe Wanderers in the summer.
Stewart had left Aberdeen in the lurch. Just three minutes after the restart, Roofe ensured the 30-year-old would have felt even worse and sunk even lower in his seat.
Scott Wright’s pace and direct running unlocked Aberdeen and Roofe finished them off. A composed finish was typical of the forward and Beale will hope there is plenty more to come if Roofe can put together a run of appearances following his latest injury issues.
With eight minutes left, Roofe received more treatment and this was an evening that encapsulated his fortunes. An awkward landing left him clutching his arm and the frustration was clear as he let out a roar and began the long walk around the pitch and back to the dressing room.
He was soon joined by a victorious side. Rangers had their Hampden heroes and Stewart had to come to terms with his role as the villain in red.
