Playing with Hartson soul

Rangers 1

Ronald de Boer headed Rangers back into the game just before the hour mark but he and his team-mates could do nothing to prevent his side’s first home loss since September 2001, when Celtic were also triumphant.

This result, coming on the back of Celtic’s away win over Boavista that clinched a place in the UEFA Cup final, cut Rangers’ lead at the top to just five points.

Celtic complained bitterly about having to play this game when it was first scheduled so close to the UEFA Cup tie but their performance on the day belied their previous anxiety over the fixture.

The title’s destiny still remains in Rangers’ hands however despite a setback that smashed their 100% home record and the pennant will come back to Ibrox for the first time in three seasons if they win the rest of their games.

But this was another huge result for the Celtic faithful to celebrate and they joyfully taunted their rivals by wearing sombreros and waving their passports to rub in the fact they are bound for Seville next month.

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill praised his players saying: “It was a terrific effort by the team. Adrenalin can get you only so far and we had to play with a lot of desire and a lot of commitment - and no little ability as well.

“It was a great effort considering what happened on Thursday night and the time that we got home so great credit to the team.

"They have great heart and a willingness to keep going. Chris Sutton I thought epitomised it today.

"He has done little training for about four or five weeks and played when Paul (Lambert) had to come off on Thursday night. He started today and was still going strong at the end.

“He did well and so did the whole team.”

Lambert had not been the only change from Thursday, with Johan Mjallby rested and Stilian Petrov left on the bench until midway through the second half.

That allowed Jackie McNamara to come back into the side along with Sutton.

O’Neill started with a back four for only the second time in his Hoops career, the other being the ill-fated attempt to preserve a first-leg lead in the Champions League qualifier with Basle earlier in the season.

Hartson was involved in a first-half incident with Craig Moore that left the defender needing treatment.

But O’Neill insisted: “He came into the dressing room at half- time absolutely adamant that video evidence would prove he did not use an elbow.”

The fitness of goalkeeper Robert Douglas remains a problem however as he was forced off after just nine minutes and has now pulled out of the Scotland squad for Wednesday’s friendly with Austria.

O’Neill said: “It’s a recurrence of the thigh problem. That will present a problem but we will have to see how it goes. We don’t know.”

Rangers manager Alex McLeish was left cursing his side’s inability to turn early chances into goals. McLeish said: “I think it all went horribly wrong in the first half because we started brilliantly. We had three chances.

“I was out on the touchline telling the players that we couldn’t keep passing up chances.

“Claudio was one-on-one with the goalie, Ronald had a chance that has fallen for him in the box and he snatched it wide and Lorenzo has had a free header from a corner in the six-yard box and the big fellow is normally deadly from there.

“It just didn’t go for us and we were on the back foot after the penalty. Celtic were able to set their stall out, sit deeper and pick us off. They played mainly counter-attack after that.

“I think we made enough chances overall to have got something out of the game.”

RANGERS: Klos, Ricksen, Moore, Amoruso, Numan, Caniggia (McCann 72), Ferguson, Konterman (Arteta 45), Lovenkrands (Thompson 83), de Boer, Mols.

CELTIC: Douglas (Broto 9), Valgaeren, Balde, Larsson, Agathe, McNamara, Lennon, Thompson, Sutton, Hartson (Petrov 66), Laursen. Referee: H Dallas (Scotland).