Abdallah Sima ‘showed the way’ for Rangers on Wednesday night with the Brighton loanee opening the scoring in the 4-0 Scottish League Cup quarter-final thrashing of Livingston.
Just three days after Mick Beale’s side were booed off following another unconvincing display against Motherwell, Abdallah Sima wasted little time in turning those jeers into cheers.
It took Rangers just ten minutes to break Livingston’s resilience; Sima firing in the opener and setting the home side on their way to arguably their most complete performance of the entire campaign.
“It was a good night for us. We were a bit more patient. I thought at times we could have speeded up a little bit, but our general possession was much better than the weekend. Abdallah showed the way really with his running off the ball,” Beale tells Rangers Review.
Abdallah Sima shines in Rangers League Cup win
Dovetailing brilliantly with Ridvan Yilmaz – the left-back also getting his name on the scoresheet on a rare start – Sima certainly did his hopes of more regular game time no harm at all.
An injury to Rabbi Matondo meant Wednesday night felt like something of an audition for the one-time Slavia Prague star. And, as Sima struck fear into the heart of the Livi backline while helping out Yilmaz at the other end, it was a test he aced with flying colours.
‘The reason we won the game’
“Our left side was probably the reason we won the game,” Beale adds. Yilmaz chosen ahead of Borna Barisic and Sima following up his winner against Real Betis a week ago.
“Ridvan and Abdallah. Between them, the energy they showed led to the first two goals.
“When you ask teams to play three games in seven days, then four in ten, the entertainment and energy levels are going to go down. I think for us it’s to just keep winning. Look at the list of players who are out (injured).
“They are the players who bring guile and style. (But) I thought Abdallah was eye-catching.”
Rangers will now face Hearts in the semi-final on November 4th.
