BY IAIN COLLIN – @CCP_sport
Richard Foster has confessed that, in the end, Rangers were content to escape with a 2-0 defeat the last time they faced Celtic.
But he reckons next month’s Scottish Cup semi-final will be totally different.
Foster, who is gearing up for Ross County’s League Cup final against Hibernian on Sunday, was in the Rangers side when they took on their bitter rivals in the League Cup semi-final in February last year.
On that occasion, Celtic ran out comfortable winners at Hampden thanks to first-half goals from Leigh Griffiths and Kris Commons.
But the full-back is convinced his old team-mates have made giant strides since then and will fancy their chances of an upset this time round.
He said: “We got beat 2-0 but we never even laid a glove on them and never had a chance of winning the game.
“We got to the stage where thankfully they were happy to beat us 2-0.
“We huffed and puffed a lot and never really created anything.
“But certainly the gap between the two sides is much closer than it was last year.”
Chances
Foster has enjoyed the way Rangers have played this term under Mark Warburton but has been less impressed with Celtic’s displays.
County stunned the Parkhead side in the semi-finals to make Sunday’s showdown with Hibs but have slipped to three defeats against the Hoops in the league.
However, Foster has seen a vulnerability about Celtic this season and believes the result could come down to how well Ronny Deila’s team cope with Rangers’ attacking flare.
He added on the BBC: “You just need to look at the chances Celtic give up for other teams to score.
“In every game we’ve played them this season, we’ve created lots of chances against them and in a few games they’ve been lucky to come away with the three points.
“It goes back to the way Rangers are playing at the moment. They’re confident, they probably will have the league wrapped up by the time the game comes around, and they’re very, very good going forward.
“So, they will create chances and it’s just a case of whether Celtic can fend them off and show their quality.
“But it will be a very interesting game to watch.”
