JOHN SOUTTAR has praised Rangers’ character as they roared back in the second half to merit a point in this afternoon’s 3-3 Old Firm draw.
The Gers found themselves 2-0 behind at the half-time interval, before they improbably hauled themselves back into the contest thanks to goals from James Tavernier and Abdallah Sima.
A late strike from Adam Idah appeared to be sending all three points back to Parkhead, but Rangers had the final say in the contest when Rabbi Matondo produced a sumptuous curling finish to equalise.
Speaking to RangersTV after an action-packed 90 minutes, Souttar said: “Obviously the start that we had was far from ideal - not something that you practice during the week.
“But it’s all about character coming back into the game. It’s a massive game in the season for both sides.
“I thought the character we showed to come back, after going 2-0 down, takes a lot.
“To comeback to 2-2, then get another blow for 3-2; I thought for all three goals we could have done better.
“In these games, sometimes crazy things happen, but it’s how you react. I thought we showed a lot of character to stand up and get back into the game.
“It’s not always happened, and I think we need to take it into the rest of the season.”
On Rabbi Matondo’s spectacular leveller in stoppage time, the Scotland international continued: “We’re going to need everyone throughout the season; different players have stepped up in different moments.
“I’m delighted for Rabbi because he’s been unlucky this season due to injuries, but he’s infectious around the place.
“He’s a great character, and for him to come on and score a goal like that will do him the world of good.”
It appeared a long way back for Philippe Clement’s at the half-time interval as the team trudged in two goals behind.
However, they showcased their mental resilience to haul themselves back into the contest not once, but twice, thanks to an improved second half showing.
Souttar says the response after the interval is testament to the character within the dressing room and their ability to stick to the manager’s message.
He added: “Of course you want to win every game, but when you’re in that situation, it’s about how you react being men, taking responsibility on the pitch.
“It’s about taking your time, playing football, not getting carried away; at 2-0 down you could feel that everything needed to go forward.
“But that’s not how we want to play, and you can lose control of that, but in the second half I thought we passed the ball really well and we didn’t force it.
“It’s important that everyone takes responsibility and that we stand up.
“We’ll look back at the game tomorrow and where we can do better, then we’ll try to adjust a few things and take it into Wednesday.”