Celtic 1, Rangers 0.
Celtic sit top of the Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League for the first time this season, after a 52nd minute Joe Ledley header earned a thrilling win over Rangers at Parkhead.
On November 5th, Rangers led their fierce Old Firm Rivals by 15 points and a fourth consectuative championship looked inevitable.
However, Celtic have now won all nine of their league fixtures in the past 54 days. During the same period, Rangers have dropped points with a home draw against lowly St Johnstone, and suffered defeats at Kilmarnock, St Mirren and now Celtic.
The result means Neil Lennon’s side will start 2012 with a two point cushion of their own.
The first half was a scrappy contest, as both sides struggled to cope with 70mph winds and torrential rain in Glasgow.
Celtic dominated possession, but were lucky not to go behind after six minutes.
Indecisive defending allowed Sone Aluko to cross from the right byline and find Lee Wallace. The Rangers fullback powered a far post header that Fraser Forster brilliantly clawed away, but replays showed the ball had narrowly crossed the line.
10 minutes later, it was Celtic’s turn to have a goal ruled out. Allan McGregor spilled James Forrest’s 25 yard shot and Georgios Samaras chipped home the rebound. He was correctly judged offside.
Midway though the first half, Carlos Bocanegra spurned a golden chance to open the scoring. The American international awkwardly scooped over from two yards after Nikica Jelavic had flicked on Wallace’s corner.
Samaras has only scored three goals this season, but he proved his worth to the team through excellent hold-up play and winning almost everything in the air.
The Greek’s nod-downs found Scott Brown then Gary Hooper, who both forced decent saves McGregor.
The Scotland stopper was again called upon early in the second half as Celtic came out firing.
Forrest showed exactly why he has been attracting interest from Tottenham and Liverpool, as he cut in from the left and let rip a terrific 25-yard shot that McGregor tipped over.
From the subsequent corner, Celtic took the lead. Charlie Mulgrew’s left-footed inswinger was met at the far post by Welshman Joe Ledley, who bulleted a standing header into the top corner for his fourth goal of the season.
Rangers pushed up as they tried to force a way back into the game. Their high line was exploited on the hour, as Samaras played in Hooper, Celtic’s top-scorer, who rounded the keeper before being wrongly called back for offside.
Lee McCulloch was a controversial inclusion in Ally McCoist’s starting XI. The 33-year-old was due to miss the game, after being sent off for violent conduct at St Mirren on Saturday. However, Rangers decided to appeal, thus delaying the suspension.
McCulloch was unsurprisingly involved in one of the game’s uglier incidents. His late tackle on Beram Kayal was punished only with a free kick, but it forced the Israeli midfielder to be stretchered off.
Emotions threatened to boil over with 10 minutes to go, as substitute David Healy was booked for a cynical lunge on the impressive Forrest.
Rangers bombarded their oppenents’ box with high balls, deep into the five minutes of added time. But Celtic’s defence, including Mulgrew and Ledley playing outside of their natural positions, stood firm to claim the crucial win.
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