WHEN Rangers prevailed against Celtic on penalties in the Scottish Cup semi-final of 2016, the roar from the blue half of the national stadium was as cathartic as it was deafening, as four years of frustration came cascading down on to the Hampden pitch.
For Nicky Law, the feeling was no different to any Rangers supporter who was there that day. If anything, the release for him would have been even more profound, given what he had come through in his three years at the club.
The shambolic end and aftermath of Ally McCoist’s reign as manager had left Law too embarrassed to leave the house at times, and while the Mark Warburton era had brought with it an upturn in fortunes for the team as a whole, Law was now finding first-team football hard to come by.
That afternoon, he climbed off the bench to help Rangers through extra-time, and he would go on to play a central role in the victory by scoring the last goal of the penalty shoot-out, just before Tom Rogic blazed high and wide to send Rangers into the final.
“With the way that we played football under Mark, we thought we had a chance going into the game,” Law said. “Probably not a lot of other people saw it that way, but as a squad we were quietly confident that we could at least make it a good game.
“Our football was brilliant on the day. We were disappointed we didn’t win the game inside the 90 minutes, and even more so that we didn’t win it in extra-time. It was disappointing it got to penalties really, because we really felt we were the better side.
“We played Celtic the year before, and we were in a big mess both on and off the field, and we probably didn’t feel as if we had a chance going into that one.
“In my three years there, there were some really tough times, particularly the first season in the Championship. Ally McCoist left and we didn’t really have a manager for a while, and it was as tough a spell as I’ve had in my career.
“The expectancy was still there, but we were nowhere near the level or the standard that the club was used to. It was difficult, and I remember there were times when I didn’t want to leave the house out of embarrassment at some of the results we were having. Everywhere you go, people want to talk about it, so it can be hard.
“But by the time that game came around, we were confident going into it, and I think we were certainly the better side on the day.
“The year before was hugely below the standard of Rangers, so to go and play the football we did and dominate the game was very pleasing.”
If it wasn’t for a spot of subordination in the ranks by Gedion Zelalem, which then afforded Danny Wilson the chance to pass the buck to Law, he might have been a mere witness to events as he had been for much of the season, but fate transpired to hand him a chance to show his mettle.
“I remember the night before the game the sheet came around, and the lads who fancied taking a penalty put their names down,” he said.
“Obviously, the lads who knew they were starting the game went first, and even though I was on the bench, I put my name down and it ended up that I came on and had to take one.
“I was maybe seventh or eighth on the list. I remember standing on the halfway line, and Gedion nipped in and took a penalty even though he never put his name down on the sheet. I knew that Danny was one in front of me, but when it got to his turn he turned to me and said ‘it’s you to go.’ I said ‘no, I’m one after you’, but he said that because Gedion had gone that was his turn and it was me to go!
“In a way that probably helped me, because I didn’t have too much time to think about the penalty. If I had known I was the next one I would have been even more nervous than I was, but of course, it was nerve-wracking enough as it was.
“We were in the later stages of the shootout and it was sudden death, so you knew if you missed you were probably going to lose.
“I was just delighted to see it going in the back of the net, and I think Danny was delighted that [Tom] Rogic missed, because it meant he didn’t have to take one!”
Law left Ibrox at the end of that season before Rangers took the step up to the Premiership, but given the shape they were in when he made his way back south to Bradford City – where he remains – he is surprised that Celtic have been unbeaten in the nine meetings between the sides since. A lot of that, he concedes, is down to the improvements made since by Celtic, but he senses that Rangers are at last ready to put their rivals to the sword once more.
“At that point, it was just as if Rangers Football Club were on the up again,” he said. “We were playing good football, scoring lots of goals – albeit in the league below – and we felt that maybe the gap wasn’t quite as big as had been made out. Particularly so after the game.
“The appointment of Brendan Rodgers was huge for Celtic, and he has done unbelievably well for them. The way they play football now is brilliant, but I do think that this is the best Rangers have been since then.
“They have signed well in January, they have got some good players in now, and I’ve been impressed by them in the games I’ve seen since the turn of the year.
“They will be disappointed they lost the game at Ibrox 3-2, especially as Celtic went down to 10 men. I think that was a huge chance missed for Rangers, and I think it probably affected them for a while after that.
“But this is a one-off game and they should take confidence from the way they played in that game, and I think it will be tight again.”
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