Celtic kept their Treble dream alive as they hammered a final nail into rivals Rangers' season – with Jota was the Hampden hero with the only goal of the Scottish Cup semi-final to set up a meeting with Inverness Caley Thistle.
And the victory makes it six games undefeated for Ange Postecoglou in a run stretching back a full year to the defeat in the last four of the competition last season. Michael Beale is now without a victory over the Hoops in four games since taking over the Ibrox helm and can now only look forward to that summer rebuild.
Rangers dominated but couldn't find the net and had an early chance when Nicolas Raskin had a pop but his shot was deflected wide. It showed the Light Blues were eager to start on the front foot and they dominated early on without creating any real clear cut in chances. In fact, it took until midway through the first half for the first shot on target - Allan McGregor beating away Alistair Johnston’s effort.
The Ibrox side suffered a bow 10 minutes before the break as Malik Tillman injured himself as he challenged Greg Taylor and had to limp off, replaced by Scott Arfield who was a goal hero in the win 12 months ago.
But having worked so hard to make a game of it, Rangers undone all their graft by conceding a simple opener as they were caught sleeping. Raskin challenged Matt O’Riley but was so busy protesting his innocence that he allowed Daizen Maeda to pick up the loose ball before crossing for Jota to head beyond McGregor.
Beale didn’t hesitate to act at half-time with Kent hooked for Fashion Sakala. And the Zambian was right in the thick of it early in the second half as he got on the end of Cantwell’s cross and there was a real scramble with Cameron Carter-Vickers making a last-ditch clearance as Alfredo Morelos battled for the rebound.
Johnston then had to limp off with Anthony Ralston replacing him and Gers kept pressing in the second half with Tavernier cracking a shot off the post and Sakala should have scored but - in a carbon copy of a missed chance in the Viaplay Cup final - he squandered it and it was a familiar story. Here's five talking points from a rain-lashed Hampden.
Groundhog Day
These games are now following a familiar pattern. Just like Tommy Burns with Celtic in the 1990s, Rangers must wonder what they have to do to beat their rivals. The Hoops dominated so many derbies under Burns but couldn’t get the better of the Light Blues often enough. It became as much a psychological barrier as anything else and this is now the case for Michael Beale’s team. They’ve arguably had the better of three of the four derbies under Beale but haven’t won any of them. The final league meeting at Ibrox is a dead rubber but they need the victory to give them hope going into next season as much as anything.
He’s Jot the lot against Gers
So much was made of Kyogo being the scourge of Rangers but Jota’s record isn’t too shabby either. The former Benfica man’s opening goal made it four against the Light Blues and the 24-year-old is scoring at crucial times. His header broke the deadlock late in the first half and it was a big goal coming at that time, just as Kyogo’s did in the Viaplay Cup final. But it’s not only his ability to the find the net, Jota also puts in a shift against Rangers and they haven’t been able to deal with him.
Play to the whistle
It’s a phrase players are taught at schoolboy level and Michael Beale must have been tearing his hair out at how his troops stopped when Raskin challenged Matt O’Riley. The Belgian put both hands up to protest his innocence but the whole defence stopped to wait to see if a free-kick awarded. In the meantime, Daizen Maeda pounced on the ball before crossing for Jota to head home the opener. But there were other guilty parties in the build up to the goal. Ryan Kent was slow to react at the initial quick free kick and Borna Barisic, on a booking, was beaten to the ball by Maeda and then James Tavernier was caught ball watching as the cross came over. It really was embarrassing stuff from Rangers.
Powderpuff attack
Rangers started well probably shaded possession in the first half but their attacking players didn’t do enough to hurt Celtic. Malik Tillman worked hard before he hobbled off injured but so much of his energy was in stopping the Hoops.
Ryan Kent didn’t do nearly enough and it was no surprise to see him hooked at half-time. Alfredo Morelos also didn’t trouble the Celtic defence. It was a surprise he lasted on the pitch that long. Rangers need more of a cutting edge and that’s where the work will need to be done in the transfer market in the summer.
Supporter solution needed
It’s a point that has been made repeatedly but occasions like this serve as a reminder. Hampden Park was packed to the rafters with the National Stadium split right down the middle. It was full of colour and noise and the match had to be delayed a few minutes to allow the smoke to clear from the pre-match pyro shows. But on days like this there really isn’t an atmosphere to match and that’s why for regular league games the clubs need to find a way to get back to visiting fans being allowed in.
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