That’s it from me, but do read Ewan Murray’s match report from the game:
Scott Arfield says: “It was a terrific performance from start to finish and we could have had more goals on a different afternoon. It was all about us today.”
James Tavernier adds: “The goal set the game off on the right tone. i thought the lads were terrific today. We want to take these performance into next season. We’ve adapted to a new system and it’s really paid off.”
Arfield is named man of the match too
So, a nice way for Rangers to see out their season at home – an Old Firm victory in their final match at Ibrox before the summer break. They face Kilmarnick away next Sunday while Celtic have back-to-back fixtures against Hearts, one in the league and one in the Cup. Will be interesting to see whether they rest many players for the SPL game, and perhaps interesting to see whether Burke is ever seen in a Celtic shirt again after that display.
News from the other end of the table: Jim McIntyre has been sacked as Dundee manager following the club’s review of their relegation from the Premiership.
The former Dunfermline and Ross County boss arrived in October last year but only secured a fourth win in 31 matches when Dundee won at Livingston on Saturday. McIntyre said he was planning for next season after the match: “I’m fully focused on the job of trying to get us back up there next year. If they make a decision [to sack me] there’s nothing I can do to affect that - I’ve got to concentrate on doing my job.”
It would appear he was right: there was nothing much he could do.
Arfield and Kent were fantastic for Rangers, Burke was awful for Celtic and the home fans are bouncing in the stands. Gerrard’s side were at their best today, snapping into tackles, their passing slick and movement constant. Celtic just didn’t turn up, perhaps with their focus on the Cup final against Hearts to come and the title celebrations still lingering.
Updated
Peeep peeeeeeep
Steven Gerrard punches the air as the referee brings this to a close. Rangers wanted this, Celtic didn’t.
90 min +1: Candeias, who has been quite feisty since coming on, concedes a free kick after shoving Hayes to the ground high up the Celtic left. Simunovic gets on the end of the free kick but heads wide. Neil Lennon looks slightly sick.
90 min: Two minutes added on.
89 min: A third change for Rangers: Davis wanders off, McCrorie wanders on.
88 min: Tavernier crosses low from the right wing, but Bain is out smartly to claim.
86 min: Kent picks out Flanagan marauding up the left wing. After a bit of toing and froing, the ball returns to Kent and he flashes a low, scorching shot wide of Bain’s goal from about 30 yards. Kent has probably been my man of the match today, though Arfield runs him close.
84 min: Watching the replay of that Burke shot: he has the whole goal to aim at but scuffs his shot low to about the only place Foderingham could be safely guaranteed to get to. A woeful effort.
83 min: Edouard gets onto an improbable through pass deep in Rangers’ half. He crosses to Burke who has the goal at his mercy, but he clips tamely and Foderingham saves easily. Burke has been awful today – he appears to have zero confidence.
82 min: Arfield gets the hook, with Ibrox standing to applaud the scorer of the second goal. Candeias will replace him.
81 min: Ntcham plays perhaps the worst pass of the match, a through ball into the area from 40 yards out ... despite there being no Celtic player with 35 yards of the box.
80 min: Morelos’s first act is to snap a tackle at Scott Brown, to a loud cheer from Rangers fans.
79 min: Defoe appears to have injured himself in the midst of that so trots off for Morelos, who was being readied to come on already. The referee checks his pocket to see if the red card is there, just in case ...
77 min: Kent, somehow, marauds up the centre of the pitch despite the attentions of Scott Brown. He plays the ball into Defoe who has one shot blocked, then attempts to lift the rebound over Bain and into the goal. It bounces off the cross bar and dribbles out to Arfield who can’t force it goalwards. So close to 3-0!
76 min: Tavernier takes, lifting the ball into the box, but Edouard can clear. Fireworks fans: Morelos is getting ready to come on.
75 min: Rangers rake a long ball up the pitch and Ajer doesn’t realise Kent is on his shoulder. By the time he does, it’s too late, and he has to foul the Rangers man. Tavernier hovers over the free kick, just outside the Celtic box, once again.
74 min: Tavernier lifts the free kick to the back post, where Katic leaps but fails to connect. the ball dribbles out to Kent on the edge of the box, but his shot is weak and scuffs wide of the goal.
73 min: Arfield wriggles clear of two Celtic defenders but, as he attempts to fire the afterburners to get into the box, Hayes brings him down and gets a yellow card for his troubles.
72 min: That’s a lovely ball into the box for Sinclair but Goldson slides across to cut out the pass. An immaculate interception.
70 min: Rogic trots off and Ntcham replaces him in a last roll of the dice for an off-key Celtic.
69 min: Ntcham is getting his kit on on the bench as he prepares to come on for Celtic in what will be their final substitution.
68 min: Tavernier, who scored in the first half from around this area of the pitch, clips a low shot through the wall but it goes into the arms of Bain in goal.
66 min: That was entirely deserved from a Rangers point of view, they’re been much the better side, with Celtic very much off the pace. 3-0 wouldn’t flatter Rangers, to be honest. They do their best to make that happen, with the impressive Kent wriggling outside the box to find room, then going down in a heap when fouled. Free kick just outside the Celtic box.
65 min: Arfield enjoyed that one - in fact, he enjoyed it a little too much and earns a yellow card for his celebration. Lennon responds by sending on Sinclair for Johnston.
GOAL! Rangers 2-0 Celtic (Arfield)
A wonderful goal! Kamara strides forward, plays a pass to Defoe. The striker steps over it, completely wrong-footing the Celtic defence, and Arfield is there to to stab it home from around the penalty spot.
Updated
62 min: Kent clips in a poor corner but Edouard nods it behind so he’ll get another go at it. This one is better and Goldson attacks it, but Simunovic is there first and nods behind again for a third corner. It’s the best of the lot and Bain fists clear, but only as far as Flanagan. He nods towards goal but his effort is wide.
60 min: Jack forces his way up the Rangers right wing thanks to good work from Tavernier, then finds Kent in the area. The on-loan Liverpool man then, bafflingly, attempts a twisting backheel in the box when he had time to pick out a proper pass. It means Arfield can do little with what was nearly a very presentable chance.
58 min: Tavernier attempts precisely that, though without the requisite control. He hoofs long and out for a goal kick.
57 min: Scott Brown stumbles while on the ball and concedes possession, and the Rangers fans cheer almost as loudly as when their side scored in the opening minutes. A minute later, Brown reignites his battle with Arfield, this turn becoming the aggressor and fouling the Rangers player. A chance for the home side to lift a long ball into the box.
Updated
54 min: Brown bundles Kamara into touch in robust fashion but nobody appears to mind too much. Moments later Rangers are on the attack again. Kent threads another lovely ball into the box, leaving the Celtic defence in all sorts of trouble, but Arfield can’t quite get onto the end of it.
52 min: Flanagan and Brown clash in the box. The Celtic captain was lurking in the box, attempting to get onto the end of the corner, and gets a deliberate elbow to the nose for his efforts. Flanagan gets a yellow, which could easily have been a red. McGregor hoists in a corner, and it falls to Edouard but his header balloons up in the air and out for a goal kick. Rangers fortunate not to be a man down.
Updated
50 min: Tavernier shapes up for a cross, then slips badly, sliding along the pitch on his shorts in the comedy style. It means Celtic can build, and they piece together something like an attack up their right wing. Burke looks to cross but happily accepts a corner.
48 min: Celtic have had more of the ball so far this half but they appear to be playing at half speed in comparison to Rangers. The home side are sitting off them until sensing a chance, then pressing hard.
47 min: Flanagan puts in a challenge and a half, absolutely flattening a Celtic man in the middle of the pitch. Oof.
Peep, peeeeep
We’re off again. Toljan replaces Lustig for Celtic after the defender limped off at the end of the first half.
So, Rangers very much in control of this ever since scoring in the opening moments of the match. Celtic were barely there for 40 minutes, but came into the game for the last five minutes of the first half to suggest there may be something brewing for the second half. In the meantime, here’s some half time reading:
Half-time
47 min: Lustig has gone straight down the tunnel, so it doesn’t look like he’ll be back. And, moments later, the referee brings a first half entirely dominated by Rangers to a halt.
46 min: Rangers float over a dangerous corner and Goldson gets up but can’t get his header on target.
45 min: Rangers haven’t quite gone in for half-time yet. Defoe knocks the ball down for Kent, who jinks to the edge of the area and attempts to feed Arfield. It’s a lovely move but Arfield can’t quite get a shot away before Bain intervenes. In the process, Lustig goes down lame. He wanders off the pitch and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be back.
Updated
44 min: Hayes overcooks his cross, lifting it over the area instead of into it. But it’s a sign Celtic have woken up and, at the moment, they’re dominating. Rangers have only a minute or two to see out until half time however.
43 min: Corner to Celtic after Tavernier closes McGregor down. He lifts in the corner to the six yard box, but Katic gets up and heads clear. Good, dangerous corner cleared well by Rangers.
42 min: Celtic begin to string some passes together, looking for a route in up the left. It comes to a halt when Johnston attempts to feed McGregor and the Celtic man shoves over a Rangers defender in attempting to get the ball.
40 min: Ajer steps forward and intercepts a Rangers through ball, briefly putting the home side on the back foot. Celtic’s momentum is lost when the ball is played to Burke, who appears unwilling or not confident enough to take play on himself. Still, Celtic have finally come into this half with five minutes left to play of it.
38 min: Hayes does well to skip up the Celtic left wing, exchanges a couple of quick passes, and finds himself crossing high up the pitch. It’s deflected behind for a corner but the referee calls for it to be taken again after a bout of wrestling between Lustig and Simunovic. Celtic line up in the love train style, McGregor floats the ball in, and Katic hoofs clear. So that’s the end of that.
36 min: Lustig fires in a cross to Edouard, who had been lost by Katic. There is a brief spot of handbags in the box, which the referee quickly pours cold water on.
Updated
35 min: Kent fires a shot from outside the area (quite a long way) wide of Bain’s right hand post.
33 min: Celtic win a free-kick high up their right wing and deep in the Rangers half. McGregor lifts the ball high and deep towards the back post - but it’s too high and too deep and goes out for a goal kick, which the Rangers fans are somewhat delighted about.
32 min: Kent lifts the corner into the box this time, but Bain can claim it easily.
31 min: Goldson gives Rogic something to think about on the right side of the Rangers pitch, leaving the Australian in a heap on the floor. The referee tells them all to get on with it and Rangers win a free kick 40 yards out a moment later. Tavernier launches it in to the box and Brown nods it behind for a Rangers corner.
30 min: Half an hour gone and Rangers remain thoroughly on top of this match. Celtic have barely turned up.
28 min: A sweeping Rangers moves takes them up the pitch, before the ball finds Flannagan high up on the left wing. He forces a corner off a Celtic defender, and Rangers work a short corner routine to Arfield on the edge of the box. His first-time pass to Kent is a touch heavy though and they can’t capitalise - but it would have had Celtic struggling had he got it right.
26 min: Defoe lays off a pass to Arfield on the wing then heads for the box at full speed. He goes down in a heap again, this time outside the box, and claims he was shoved. He gets nothing from the referee, as the ball scorches into the box with, I think, Davis running on. Bain pops off his line to claim the ball.
Updated
24 min: Arfield catches Brown hard and the referee has a word with the Rangers man. That’s been bubbling away for a while, and it seems Arfield is very much trying to play the Scott Brown role for Rangers. Brown, for his part, keeps his temper in check.
23 min: Edouard is again muscled off the ball by an army of Rangers players, but Celtic can build up the left. Hayes probes but can’t find a crossing chance and Rangers eventually push Celtic all the way back into their own half. The move ends with a backpass to the goalkeeper, a marker of how impressive the Rangers press has been.
22 min: Edouard finds himself on the ball and is immediately surrounded by five Rangers players. He has nowhere to go and nobody to pass to, so is fortunate the referee helps him out with a free kick. The attitude from Rangers has been absolutely sensational today - snapping into every tackle, first to every ball.
20 min: Kent finds Arfield in the box, who lays a pass off to Defoe. The striker tries to get on his right foot then goes tumbling to the ground under the attentions of Ajer. He wants a penalty but it looks more like he threw himself over Ajer’s leg rather than any foul from the defender. The referee has none of it, but Defoe stays down injured and the physio trots onto the pitch.
Updated
18 min: Up the other end, Burke does his best to mess things up - stepping over a ball played to him rather than taking on a shot. He manages to get possession back but then fires a poor shot that lands nowhere near the Rangers goal.
17 min: Kent jinks and wriggles to the edge of the D, finding Defoe unmarked on the edge of the area. He takes a first time shot that stings Bain’s hands, and the goalkeeper drops the ball but claims on the rebound. Good effort from the on loan Bournemouth striker.
16 min: McGregor and Tavernier do battle on the edge of the Rangers box, with Tavernier having to use his strength to prevent the Celtic man from stealing it in a dangerous spot. He does well, ushering the ball out for a throw from which Celtic do little.
15 min: Burke manages to ping a ball into the box from the corner, but Rangers clear easily with no Celtic player anywhere near the low cross.
14 min: McGregor and Hayes combine up the left to little effect, with the ball rolling out for a throw-in. It’s symptomatic of how badly Celtic have started - little control and not much sense of what they’re trying to do with the ball. Scott Brown sums it up again, playing a perfect through ball to the Rangers goalkeeper Foderingham to great cheers from the home crowd.
11 min: Defoe is offside as a through ball cuts the Celtic defence in two, prompting a full and frank message from Neil Lennon to his defenders.
10 min: Arfield tries to kind Kent with as flick over the Celtic back four, but he gets a bit too much on it. Kent cannot do much but pass backwards and Rangers play keep ball around the Celtic box as they probe for a shooting chance. Eventually possession is conceded after Scott Brown Scott Browns Arfield in the robust style.
9 min: It’s breathless stuff so far, with Rangers well on top, so Celtic take the chance to take some heat out of the match. They play the ball around the back, before finding Rogic in midfield. He somewhat ruins things by hoofing a long ball wide which is easily cut out.
7 min: Tavernier is full of confidence after his early strike. He whips in a nice looking ball, but it’s too far in front of Defoe. This time Bain manages to catch it rather than watch it fly into his net.
6 min: Johnson swivels up the Celtic right wing, but is on the receiving end of a Davis tackle that is, let’s say, fully committed (and perfectly legal). Tasty.
5 min: It’s another Rangers free-kick in an attacking area - this time high up the pitch on the right. Tavernier stands over it again but doesn’t beat the first man with the ball this time.
3 min: What a start: that’s certainly ramped up the atmosphere a notch (it had more of an impact that Reef, certainly). Bain really should have got to that - it was well within reach - but he was ready for a an attacker to head it, so simpl,y allowed it to drop into his net.
@TomBry comic defending from Celtic. They'll not win the title playing like that...... oh.
— phil withall (@phil_withall) May 12, 2019
GOAL! Rangers 1-0 Celtic (Tavernier)
2 min: Tavernier whips over a cross to the far post and it eludes everyone. Bain should stop it, but he’s expecting a touch from an attacker, and the ball flies in. What a start!
Updated
We're off
1 min: Kent goes for a wriggling run up the left and is tripped by Johnston on the edge of the area. Free kick.
The teams are trotting out onto the pitch, Rangers to a roar from the home fans, Celtic to as much of a roar as the 800 away supporters allowed into the ground can manager.
Incidentally, the pre-match music at Ibrox at the moment is this:
Neil Lennon takes the opportunity to score an early point: “Coming here as newly crowned champions is a good feeling,” he says bugt then adds: “But that’s gone now and we need to concentrate on the game.” He says Rangers are a good team: “They’re slick and on good form so I expect it to be a high octane game.” But adds that Kieran Tierney and James Forrest are not fit enough today: “can’t take any chances with them”.
Steven Gerrard says he wants his team to repeat their Old Firm victory at Ibrox in December but admits it will be tough. He’s had a look at the Celtic team sheet and can’t quite work out what Neil Lennon is doing: “There’s a chance this team selection of Neil Lennon can switch to a back five or three, so it’s important we work that out early. But the focus has to be on us to improve on our last five performances.” Gerrard has also challenged Foderingham to prove that he is a No 1 after the keeper was brought in to replace the suspended McGregor.
Neil Lennon has claimed there is a discipline issue at Rangers, more to stir the pot than anything else, but does Allan McGregor’s ludicrous sending off for kicking Hibs striker Marc McNulty suggest he has a point? Rangers top the list for red cards this season, while Celtic have the fewest number of yellows (and have also conceded the fewest number of fouls)
Interesting (and slightly disappointing) that Gerrard no longer feels he can trust Morelos in the starting line up anymore. His sending off the last time these two teams met seems to have been the snapping point for the manager. “I’ve gone above and beyond,” said Gerrard then. “I’ve backed Alfredo more than enough and I can’t defend him any more.” His absence from the pitch today (he is on the bench) means Scott Brown will have to wind somebody else up, given it was his flick of Morelos’s leg that led to the reaction that earned the striker the red card. Will be intriguing to see who he targets.
“It is difficult to place a more irrelevant Old Firm game – Rangers will be second in the Scottish Premiership and Celtic are the champions regardless of Sunday’s derby outcome – but so much of the Glasgow story is viewed through the prism of a single fixture” – so says Ewan Murray. You can read his preview of the game here:
Team news
Rangers: Foderingham; Tavernier, Goldson, Katic, Flanagan; Davis, Jack, Kamara; Kent, Arfield, Defoe.
Subs: Firth, Worrall, Halliday, McCrorie, Morelos, Candeias, Barisic.
Celtic: Bain; Lustig, Simunovic, Ajer, Hayes; Brown, McGregor, Rogic, Burke, Johnston; Edouard.
Subs: De Vries, Toljan, Benkovic, Ralston, Bitton, Ntcham, Sinclair.
Referee: Kevin Clancy
Updated
Preamble
“It would have been a touch of class if they did it. I’m disappointed they are not. Celtic would have done it.” So said Neil Lennon, with a straight face, before this final Old Firm derby of the season. He was referring to the debate over whether Rangers should or shouldn’t give the SPL champions a guard of honour. Hmmm.
It’s been the talking point before the game because, other than the absolutely everything that an Old Firm derby normally has riding on it, there is nothing much riding on this. Rangers can cut Celtic’s lead at the top of the table to six points with a win, but they can’t overhaul them and nor would defeat mean they slip back a place. So, instead, there’s nothing but good old fashioned bitter rivalry hanging on this. Which is always good.
Steven Gerrard will have a choice over whether to risk Alfredo Morelos, sent off during the 2-1 defeat at Celtic Park last month, or to start Jermain Defoe (selected ahead of Morelos against Hibs last weekend). Lennon will surely start Odsonne Edouard, scorer of four goals in five games against Rangers.
Rangers are without the suspended Allan McGregor and the injured Graham Dorrans, Eros Grezda, Kyle Lafferty, Gareth McAuley, Jamie Murphy and Lee Wallace. Celtic will make do without Daniel Arzani, Dedryck Boyata, Vakoun Bayo, Ryan Christie, Craig Gordon, Jack Hendry, Eboue Kouassi and Leigh Griffiths.
Kick off: high noon.
Updated
