Caught in the middle - how Celtic flopped and Rangers triumphed as Reo Hatate and John Lundstram go in different directions

In the quest for supremacy in an Old Firm match, there is one area that is always crucial to the outcome of such a fixture: midfield.

When Celtic and Rangers met earlier in the month, Celtic managed to come back from a one-goal deficit when their captain Callum McGregor wrestled back control of the midfield. The tables were turned in this Scottish Cup semi-final, as Rangers stormed back to claim a 2-1 triumph after extra time and book a date with Hearts in next month’s final.

So much of Rangers’ resurgence here came through the middle. They started with a 4-2-3-1 formation and the holding duo of Ryan Jack and John Lundstram did the business. Jack was at his efficient, tenacious best until fatigue got the better of him – he was replaced after 75 minutes – but it was his Liverpudlian sidekick who really stole the show.

A low-key signing on a free transfer from Sheffield United last summer, Lundstram’s Ibrox career didn’t start well. The pace and physicality of Scottish football seemed to catch him off-guard and as a signing under the Steven Gerrard regime, there was some suggestion back in January that new manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst might dispense of the 28-year-old. He will be glad he didn’t.

John Lundstram of Rangers celebrates after their sides victory during the Scottish Cup Semi Final match between Celtic FC and Rangers FC at Hampden Park on April 17, 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Lundstram won the man-of-the-match award and activated beast-mode for this match. What a show of aggression, power and panache. He snapped into tackles and drove forward time and time again, the exertions of extra time against Braga did not seem to affect him. He was unlucky not to score when a curled effort cracked off the post. Only on 101 minutes did Van Bronckhorst decide his race was run, replacing him with Glen Kamara. By that point, Lundstram had battered his Celtic opponents into submission.

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What will please those of a Rangers persuasion so much, though, was that when Van Bronckhorst turned to the bench to change his midfield engine oil, the veteran duo of Steven Davis and Scott Arfield did him a right good turn. Davis added a bit of composure and control, slowing the game down to a pace that suited him, while Arfield bagged the equaliser on 78 minutes and offered energy and the desire to break beyond the front line.

What a difference to the Celtic midfield, who were found sorely lacking here. Reo Hatate, a January signing from Kawaski Frontale, burst on to the scene with a double against Rangers back at the start of February, but his performance levels appear to have dipped markedly from then. He was a pale shadow of the terrier-like box-to-box player we saw back then and was too easily muscled off the ball.

Celtic's Reo Hatate misses a first half chance during a Scottish Cup Semi-Final between Celtic and Rangers at Hampden Park, on April 17, 2022, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

His sidekicks, Tom Rogic and Callum McGregor, in a 4-3-3 formation, did not fare much better. Rogic, in fact, was hooked early in the second half for Matt O’Riley, with the Australian internationalist posted missing for much of proceedings. That can happen with Rogic, a right up and down player. McGregor worked his socks off but little came off for him. It was telling that his manager Ange Postecoglou said things only really improved when O’Riley came on.

The two teams meet again on cinch Premiership duty again on May 1. How Celtic try to redress the midfield balance from here will be fascinating.

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