SPL Saturday November 20th

Rangers 2

Celtic 0

1:0 Novo 14 pen
2:0 Rso 34

Att: 50,043

MIB: Kenny Clark

Celtic:
Hedman Balde Varga Valgaeren McNamara Petrov Lennon Sutton Thompson Camara Hartson
subs
Pearson for Camara 45
McGeady for Petrov 79

More farce and more hate-filled sectarian bile spewed from the Govan Stand on the back of the Orcs' cup win. This was another self-inflicted defeat on the part of Celtic, though they were aided and abetted by refereeing ineptitude of the highest order.

Having to watch this match in proximity to the Ibrox brass band pumping out triumphalist marching tunes, as the surrounding flotsam and jetsam waved paramilitary flags and gave Nazi salutes in defiance of new anti-sectarian legislation, all in full view of the Police, was galling. The game turned out to be a shambles, yet it started so promisingly, with Camara hitting the bar in the sixth minute.

Cue the Sieve and the tragi-comic figure of Balde. Is he being tapped? Yet another poor defensive header left Valgaeren to dive in to stop Novo shooting. Clark gleefully awarded a penalty and the Ibrox Orcs were one up after 15 minutes.

The game was by this point more than tousy with Novo and Camara getting away with a lot of off the ball stuff. Clark was more intent on following Sutton all around the pitch as he was assaulted by Rae with a succession of slaps and elbows being dished out at every opportunity. It wasn't long before a foul against Sutton led to the Orcs' second courtesy of Prso, as poor marking in the box let the Croatian get a header on target.

The wheels then came off the bus. Thompson was red carded for reacting to Lovenkrands . The Geordie squared up to the Dane , who without any contact being made, hit the deck clutching his face. Clark was only a few metres away and reached for the red card faster than a SCRAM jet. Lovenkrands didn't re emerge for the second half having been injured in the tunnel. Hopefully this was at the hands of Thompson.

But this was only the start of it. Sutton was then red carded early in the second period for a deliberate hand ball and the Orcs were in ecstasy. Two up against nine men and anticipating a whitewash. It never happened. Lennon, the butt of unbelievable levels of venomous sectarian abuse from the Orcs, rose to the occasion and stifled their efforts. Hedman (yep, even him) did his bit and kept the Orcs at bay in what was Celtic's version of the Alamo, pulling off a string of excellent stops.

The whistle couldn't come soon enough, but not before Novo had managed to stamp on Pearson's neck in an attempt to get his knees drenched in blood. Even the intellectually challenged Malcolm, who had been approached by the Police for gesticulating at the Celtic bench after the Orcs had scored, looked shocked at the Novo challenge.

On the whistle, O'Neill rescued Lennon from a further confrontation with the Orcs an dragged him off to the travelling support, fisted arms aloft, in salute to his efforts. This will go down as a piece of Celtic history, as it took the sting out of the defeat and left the Orcs with a hollow victory gained on the back of blatant, outright cheating.