CELTIC 2 RANGERS 1
ALL THAT was missing was the Premiership title presentation.
This pulsating, pulverising occasion at Parkhead had it all as 60,000 fans were transfixed with what was occurring in front of their very eyes.
Two Celtic goals within THIRTY-FIVE SECONDS, a quickfire reply from the Ibrox side, a red card for a visitor, a missed penalty-kick from the Hoops shortly after the turnaround, two Celtic goals chalked off for offside and a nervy countdown to the final whistle after seven minutes of added-on time.
The champions made it extremely difficult for themselves as they struggled against 10 men to get this win over the line.
There was a period near the end when they surrendered possession for fun and Adam Idah, a 71st minute substitute for Kyogo Furuhashi, blew two marvellous chances to put the game to bed.
A tense encounter exploded to life in 12 breathtaking minutes in which the champions scored two goals, their opponents pulled one back and John Lundstram was red-carded for an out-of-control lunge on Alistair Johnston.
When the smoke of battle cleared, the hosts were 2-1 ahead at the interval and halfway to getting the job done. But what hard work they made of it all.
It was the masterful Matt O’Riley who fired in the crucial breakthrough strike in the 35th minute to sends a sell-out crowd into raptures.
CELEBRATIONS…Matt O’Riley acknowledges another Celtic goal.
It was a goal that was crafted with just about every Celtic player involved in the build-up before the impressive James Forrest picked out Callum McGregor scampering into space in the box.
The captain spied O’Riley moving into the danger zone and sent the ball in his direction. The Danish international playmaker took a touch, steadied himself and then whipped a low drive between the stretching Jack Butland and his left-hand post for a memorable breakthrough counter.
The game was briefly held up with a flare on the pitch and, amazingly, Brendan Rodgers’ men had the ball in the net exactly 35 seconds after the restart.
Johnston cleared up a long ball before Cameron Carter-Vickers zipped an unerring diagonal pass into the tracks of Daizen Maeda on the left.
The Japanese speedster left James Tavernier in his slipstream before sending a low cross into the box from the left.
Lundstram tried to intercept the ball, but only contrived in diverting it past his own keeper as Parkhead exploded in joy yet again.
However, silence descended on the ground in the 40th minute when the team’s vulnerability at dealing with back post crosses was exposed once more.
Borna Barisic had far too much time to pitch over a ball from the left, Dujon Sterling got up above Greg Taylor to knock a header back across goal and, unforgivably, Cyriel Dessers was unmarked smack in front of goal to beat the exposed Joe Hart.
HANDS UP IF YOU’RE HAPPY…Brendan Rodgers celebrates at Parkhead.
Two minutes into first-half stoppage-time, Lundstram’s woeful afternoon didn’t get much better after he launched himself into a wayward challenge on Johnston.
The midfielder got none of the ball and a lot of the Canadian’s ankle and the right-back crashed to the turf. Referee Willie Collum was quick to show a yellow card, but was instructed by his VAR colleague Steven McLean to review the incident on his touchline monitor.
There was no surprise when the official returned to the pitch to flash the red card and banish the errant Englishman.
It looked as though Rodgers’ players were going to stamp their authority and man advantage on the contest early in the second-half.
Six minutes after the break, O’Riley was sent tumbling after Mohamad Diamande clipped his heels. Collum immediately pointed to the spot, but was invited to have a second look by VAR.
After a delay of three minutes, the match official refused to change his mind and the penalty was given. O’Riley stepped forward to take the kick, but his almost nonchalant attempt was pushed away by Butland to his left and the chance was gone.
On the hour mark, Meada latched onto a deflected Forrest shot to slide the ball under the Ibrox netminder, but the cheers of the fans were strangled when the effort was chalked off for offside.
Pictures showed the linesman had made the correct call.
Rodgers made his first changes in the 71st minute when he took off Kyogo and Forrest to introduce Idah and Nicolas Kuhn and shortly afterwards Johnston limped off with Anthony Ralston taking his place at right-back.
In the 79th minute, Hatate was sloppy at a left-wing corner-kick and was withdrawn moments later with Tomoki Iwata taking over.
Three minutes later, Idah was slow to react to a cute cross from Ralston and, in stoppage-time, the Republic of Ireland international powerhouse blew the chance to kill the contest when he shot hopelessly wide of the target with just Butland to beat.
In the 87th minute, Maeda again had the ball in the net after great service from Kuhn, but the speedster had strayed just offside.
Barring a disaster, Celtic have won the title – yes, there is the little matter of requiring a point from the remaining two games to make absolutely certain – but their lack of composure against 10 men for lengthy periods late in the second-half will be a concern for the manager.
However, that’s a problem for another day.
This is a day of celebration with the crown remaining in the Celtic trophy room for the third successive year.
TEAM: Hart; Johnston (sub: Ralston 74), Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; O’Riley, McGregor, Hatate (sub: Iwata 80); Forrest (sub: Kuhn 71), Kyogo (sub: Idah 71), Maeda.
