BBC Sportscene pundit imagined facing Fashion Sakala in Rangers 2nd half
Richard Foster shared what it would have felt like as a defender to have been facing Rangers attacker Fashion Sakala after his excellent display last night.
The Gers forward gave a man of the match performance to help drive Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men to a crucial 1-0 win over Livingston at Ibrox.
His display in the second half was particularly eye-catching as he drove forward with the ball on multiple occasions and went close to both scoring and assisting, before he did play a role in the build up for Scott Arfield’s winner.
And former Light Blues defender Foster, speaking on BBC Sportscene on Wednesday (26 January), knew exactly how the Livingston back line would have been feeling with the Zambian running at them during one sequence.
The 24-year-old picked up the ball in midfield and carried it forward at pace before cutting through the defence and arrowing a shot narrowly over.
Foster said: “When he gets running at you like that, as a defender, he’s a nightmare.
“You just want to close your eyes and hope he kicks it over the bar.”
Difference maker
In that specific case Livi’s defenders were lucky that their hopes came true but it ultimately did not make a difference to the result.
Along with teenage sensation Alex Lowry, Sakala underpinned almost 90% of the attacking intent for The Light Blues on an attritional night in torrential rain.
In such conditions you can imagine the prospect of facing the ex-Oostende man in full flow keeping defensive players up at night.
The control, speed and intent that the summer signing showed kept the visitors on the back foot, while the young Scot’s tricky feet had them confused on various occasions.
Missing the injured Ianis Hagi, as well as other key men Joe Aribo, Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent due to international duty and suspension, it looked like the league leaders might be dropping points for a second game running.
But the two attacking midfielders drove the side on, keeping the belief up long enough for Sakala to slip Borna Barisic down the left side of the box late on to clip a ball in for Arfield to provide a wonderful, and important, finish.
In other Rangers news, both Gers pundits for the match broadcast were raving over this player stepping up to the challenge.