Rangers celebrate dramatic Cup victory

Rangers 3 Celtic 2

Peter Lovenkrands headed home a last-minute winner as Rangers completed a cup double at the expense of Celtic.

Rangers, who earlier this season won the CIS Insurance Cup, twice came from behind to lift the Tennent's Scottish Cup and protect their unbeaten Old Firm record under manager Alex McLeish.

Lovenkrands can now book a World Cup place with Denmark, although team-mate Claudio Caniggia's own dream is over, having sustained knee ligament damage.

Caniggia's moment of disaster was not long in coming when Chris Sutton, playing in a back three, sent him crashing into the turf.

It was immediately apparent that his knee had been seriously damaged and although he was not immediately replaced it was clear Argentina would be going to Japan and Korea without him.

Rangers continued with 10 men and fell behind in the 19th minute from an Alan Thompson corner.

Bobo Balde got up ahead of Lorenzo Amoruso and his downward header bounced up to where John Hartson was lurking in the six-yard box and although Ronald de Boer was nearby, the Welshman had little difficulty in heading into the net.

It took Rangers two minutes to equalise however and Lovenkrands was the man on target.

Sutton and Johan Mjallby both went for a long ball and the Swede ended up heading it only a few yards back towards where it had come.

Lovenkrands needed no invitation to pick up the loose ball before turning to beat Rob Douglas with a low near post drive.

Shota Arveladze had come on for Caniggia and Hartson appeared fortunate to escape when he thrust an arm in Craig Moore's face.

But someone had to be booked eventually and it was Balde who received the game's first yellow for clattering Fernando Ricksen.

Celtic captain Paul Lambert had been carrying an ankle injury into the game and had to be withdrawn in the 44th minute, with Jackie McNamara coming on.

The second half began with tackles flying in and Hartson was booked after sending Arveladze flying.

Amoruso was shown the yellow card seconds later for climbing over Henrik Larsson and Celtic used the free-kick to restore their lead.

Neil Lennon floated the ball into the box and, just as he had done for the first goal, Balde won his physical challenge with Amoruso.

This time he claimed the goal himself with his header flying past Stefan Klos as the Italian fell helplessly to the ground.

The luck was then with Celtic when Barry Ferguson brought the ball forward and sent a shot arcing away from Douglas only to see it bounce back into play off an upright.

But there no reprieve when Balde recklessly flattened Amoruso 20 yards in front of his own goal and Ferguson curled the free-kick past the wall and beyond the diving Douglas.

Moore was the next to be booked - for tripping Hartson right on the edge of the area - but Larsson's free-kick could not match Ferguson's and the wall was in the way.

The booking count continued when Lennon was late on Lovenkrands.

Fortune favoured Mjallby in the final minute when he appeared to be climbing all over Lovenkrands in the box.

No penalty was given but when Neil McCann crossed from the left seconds later the Dane was there to head home a remarkable winner, with Sutton having nodded off for the first time of the afternoon.