Lewis Ferguson nets first Bologna goal since injury nightmare - but demanding Scots ace in no mood to celebrate
Lewis Ferguson scored his first Bologna goal since returning from a serious injury that ruled him out of Euro 2024.
But the former Aberdeen ace, who was also named as man of the match, was in no mood to celebrate as his side were held to a draw by Claudio Ranieri's Roma. Ferguson suffered Euros heartbreak when the 12 time Scotland cap was ruled out of action for almost nine months after an anterior cruciate ligament tear in March of last year. That saw the Bologna skipper, who was named as one of the best midfielder's in Serie A last season, forced to watch as a frustrated spectator for more than 200 days - before an emotional return to action in November.
The 25-year-old netted his first goal since March from the penalty spot to give his side the lead against Roma at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, but was left fuming at full-time - as Roma's Artem Dovbyk converted a 98th minute penalty to steal a point for the away side. Speaking on DAZN as he was presented with his man of the match award, Ferguson said: "This award unfortunately doesn’t mean much. I don’t know what happened at the end, if it was a penalty or not, I didn’t see it but I know that to concede a goal at the last second is always bad, and difficult to comment on.
"Overall it as a very good game, in the second half we were better, but we are not happy. It’s difficult to comment as we threw the game in the last minute; we deserved the win. We just have to take what we did well and think about Inter." Veteran boss Ranieri, in charge of Roma for the third time in his career, didn't feel as if Ferguson and his teammates could complain about the decision - saying: "I don't understand what they're complaining about, they were both penalties."
Gutted Bologna chief Vincenzo Italiano added: “We were coming off a great moment after their win against Lazio. In the first half they managed to do everything I think they wanted. Tonight we see more points thrown away. But I also saw a phenomenal reaction to their goal. That’s why I feel very sorry for the lads, but in the final minutes the desire to bring home the result must emerge, without thinking about aesthetics or individual play but about the substance which is the win.”
