Rangers recorded their second victory over Celtic in eight days this afternoon despite not having any of supporters cheering them on inside Parkhead to reduce their city rival’s lead at the top of the William Hill Premiership to just two points and increase pressure on their manager Martin O’Neill.
A first half Ryan Naderi strike was all that separated the two sides at the end of 90 fiercely-contested minutes – but the Ibrox club were by far the better team throughout and deserved the triumph and the three points.
Derek McInnes’s charges contained their opponents – who have now lost three matches in succession - well from kick-off to the final whistle and were perhaps unfortunate not to prevail by an even greater margin.
Here are five talking points from a league match which may have major repercussions in the Scottish title race.
Maeda lauded
Daizen Maeda, the Celtic cult hero who departed for Ipswich Town in the summer after four-and-a-half unforgettable years in the East End of Glasgow, returned to Parkhead today so he could pay thanks to the fans for the backing he received during his time in Scotland.
Maeda took to the field with his son before kick-off and was given a rousing reception from the home support. How his old side could do with a player with the work rate, physicality and predatory instincts of the Japanese internationalist just now. But his presence failed to inspire them.
Now Luke here!
O’Neill was widely expected to make sweeping changes in the wake of the 3-1 loss at home to Ferencvaros of Hungary at home in the Europa League on Thursday night and he duly did so.
Auston Trusty was brought in to the defence alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales. Elsewhere, Luke McCowan and Benjamin Nygren came in to midfield as James Forrest, Oliver Sorensen and Haissem Hassan all dropped out.
It looked like the hosts were going to switch to the three man rearguard which their manager favoured during his first spell in charge back in the early 200s. But he deployed Scales at left-back, Kieran Tierney on the left wing and McCowan wide on the right. The formation changed from a 4-2-3-1 when they were out of possession to a 3-4-3 when they were on the ball.
Initially, the changes had the desired impact. The home team started positively. Camilo Duran was disposed by Emmanuel Fernandez in the opposition penalty box after being sent through by a Colby Donovan header. The striker then won a free-kick in a dangerous area when he was fouled by Olwethu Makhanya.
Emotions were soon running high in the technical areas and Rangers manager McInnes squared up to Celtic coach Mark Fotheringham – who he got embroiled in a set-to with at Tynecastle last term - angrily on the touchline. Referee John Beaton raced across to restore order and showed both men yellow cards.
Trusty volleyed beyond Ivor Pandur at the set piece only for linesman David McGeachie to rule that Scales had been in an offside position when Nyrgen floated the ball in. It was the correct call. It was a breathless, incident-packed, bad-tempered opening to the encounter.
Robust Rangers
McInnes kept faith with the same line-up which had started in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final in Govan last Sunday – a last eight tie they had won by an emphatic 3-0 margin - and his men recovered well from the torrid spell and began to create decent scoring opportunities of their own.
The visitors’ captain Dan Neil, who had netted twice on his Old Firm debut, got a shot on target following good work by Djeidi Gassama down the left flank. But his attempt lacked power and was easily gathered by Viljami Sinisalo.
That the English midfielder was allowed to get on the ball in the D – where he had scored both of his goals from the previous weekend - will have concerned O’Neill greatly.
The former Sunderland player then found Naderi with a free-kick and the striker forced a good save from the keeper with a header. Tierney struck the outside of left post after being supplied by McCowan. But the opener was very much with the run of play.
A James Penrice corner was shelled out as far as Kim Min-su and the South Korean winger chested the clearance down and unleashed a powerful effort. Sinisalo could only palm the piledriver away and Naderi pounced to break the deadlock.
The silence around the ground was absolutely deafening. But it was no more than Rangers deserved. They were looking far more organised, much hungrier and smarter than their opponents. Gassama was only prevented from doubling his team’s lead by the inside of the left upright.
Høgh are you?
McCowan, who failed to justify his selection in the important fixture, was replaced by Kasper Høgh at the start of the second half and the Danish internationalist’s arrival on the park appeared to lift Celtic.
They very nearly drew level seconds after play restarted. Mika Baur cut into the Rangers area from the left and chipped to Donovan at the back post and the right-back, who will join up with the Scotland squad for the first time next week, got his header on target. But Pandur produced a magnificent one-handed save to deny him.
Høgh, a club record £11m summer signing from Bodo/Glimt, had come in for criticism after some flat displays. He had much to prove as he partnered Duran in a new 4-4-2 set-up. But the forward failed to find the target for the seventh game running.
Rangers once again recovered well and looked dangerous. Nico Raskin was calmness personified in the centre of the park, Penrice covered every blade of grass and was a real handful. Min-su went close and Kevin Kelsy was inches away from turning a Naderi cutback beyond Sinisalo.
James Forrest took over from Nygren and injected fresh energy in to Celtic’s attacking endeavours. But they could find no way through their rivals’ rearguard. When McGregor dithered and lost the ball to Naderi the fans were furious. There were howls of anguish when Tierney pass the ball out of the park.
O’Neill put on Hassan and Sebastien Tounekti for Trusty and Tierney and McInnes replaced Min-su and Gassama with Curtis and Badredine Bouanani respectively. Makhanya celebrated with his team mates after finding the target after a Curtis corner. But a VAR check showed the centre-half had handled during the build-up.
Shumaira Mheuka took over from Scales in the final minute of regulation time in a final throw of the dice. But the Chelsea loanee could make no difference to the final outcome.
Fan fury
Celtic supporters – those of them, that is, who had stayed until the bitter end - showed their extreme displeasure with what they had witnessed when Beaton blew his final whistle.
The occupants of the directors’ box were targeted for abuse by those around them in the main stand as they left their seats.
There will need to be a stark improvement after the international break to quell the growing unrest. It is still very early days for a new-look side. But at the precise moment in time it is difficult to see how the leaders can turn their season around.
