CELTIC remain four points clear at the Premiership pinnacle after Philippe Clement’s Ibrox side collapsed to a 3-2 loss to Ross County in Dingwall this afternoon.
Not even an own goal and a penalty-kick could save the Govan club from defeat with the Highlanders achieving their first-ever victory over their Glasgow opponents.
Simon Murray, George Harmon and Josh Simms netted the goals that scuppered Ibrox hopes of closing the gap at the top of the table with the season heading for an exciting and dramatic conclusion.
The hosts missed a chance inside a minute when Harmon managed to put the ball over from two yards and the visitors’ luck was in when Jack Baldwin turned a right-wing corner-kick behind Ross Laidlaw for the opening goal.
That’s the way it remained at the interval, but the game turned on its head when County netted twice in three and a half minutes after the turnaround.
ON THE BAWL…Philippe Clement watched his Ibrox side nosedive in Dingwall.
Murray flashed in the equaliser after Jack Butland had saved his first shot and the lively raider played a massive role in the second when the keeper pushed out his low shot and Harmon pounced to drill in No.2.
The Highlanders were in dreamland when Simms walloped in the third in the 69th minute and not even a VAR-assisted penalty-kick in the 89th minute could bail out the toiling Govan club.
A handball was detected by technical assistant Andrew Dallas and James Tavernier stepped up to take his club’s 15th spot-kck of the season. The right-back placed the ball behind the divining Laidlaw.
However, it was too late to throw his ailing team a lifeline.
Clement now takes his shellshocked team to Dens Park to face Dundee on Wednesday.
