It was a derby thriller at Parkhead with Barry Ferguson and his troops edging a five-goal blockbuster
Brendan Rodgers pinpointed three Celtic issues in the first half that contributed to their downfall against Rangers.
The Hoops boss watched on as his side went into the break trailing by two goals after a Nico Raskin header and a well worked goal that was finished off by Mohamed Diomande.
Minutes into the second half Daizen Maeda hit back before Reo Hatate levelled to give the hosts the edge. Rodgers felt with the energy in the stadium he expected his side to go on and at the very minimum finish with a point and put real pressure on Barry Ferguson and Co.
However, sub Hamza Igamane popped up with a cracker with just moments left on the clock to send the 2,400 travelling fans inside Parkhead wild and bag all three points in a five-goal derby thriller.
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Rangers forward Vaclav Cerny is going viral for his outrageous touchline celebration, just moments after Hamza Igamane netted a late winner in Sunday’s dramatic Old Firm derby. It was an afternoon to remember for Barry Ferguson and his Rangers side, just days after they secured their place in the Europa League quarter-final with victory over Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce. The visitors went two goals ahead at Celtic Park through Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diamonde but after Diazen Maeda pulled one back for Celtic in the opening stages of the second-half, things took a turn. In fact, they levelled the scores with 74 minutes played as Japan international Reo Hatate slotted past Jack Butland with ease. But then, with two minutes of normal time remaining, substitute Hamza Igamane scored his 14th goal of the season as in-form Rangers clinched an unforgettable three points in Glasgow. Moments after Igamane ended a recent goal drought in the dying embers, Czech winger Vaclav Cerny could be seen squirting his water bottle at a section of Celtic supporters in the front row. As you can see from the post below, footage of the incident soon emerged on X, formerly Twitter, as fans reacted to Cerny’s animated celebrations. One said: “Vaclav Cerny sprayed Celtic fans with a water bottle after their goal,” and a second wrote: “Whatever it costs to sign Cerny. We will pay double.” A third wrote: “He’ll be lucky to finish their season now. Since when was this this appropriate from any professional?” A fourth said: “Top level s***housery…..should actively be encouraged in football,” and a fifth added: “Creased every time I see it. Could watch this on repeat all day.” Speaking in his post-match interview, Rangers boss Barry Ferguson was asked about the incident involving Cerny. “No, listen, I was just concentrating on celebrating and making sure we were getting back into our shape,” he told Sky Sports. “I didn’t see the incident if I’m honest.” Vaclav Cerny sprayed Celtic fans with a water bottle after their goal… 😅 After becoming the first Rangers manager since Walter Smith in 1991 to win at Celtic Park on his first attempt, Ferguson was full of praise for his players. “It’s a really good feeling coming to your fiercest rivals and deserving to win the game,” he said. “I just said to the players to go and enjoy the next couple of days because it’s been a long time, I think five years. But I think if you look at the game overall, we deserved it. “I thought in the first half, that was the game plan that we came with. I thought the boys stuck to it perfectly. The second half, you always know Celtic are going to come at you because the crowd is getting frustrated. “I thought Brendan would make a change or two and he certainly did that, and it made a different to the Celtic team. They obviously got back into the game at two each. “But then I take a step back and what I’ve been trying to drum into the boys is there’s more needed at Rangers than being a good player. It’s been labelled by you guys, everybody in the media about character, and that’s one of the things I stressed to them when I come in today.” Cerny has been one of Rangers’ standout performers under Ferguson. Image credit: Getty Ferguson added: “It takes a certain type to be a very good Rangers player. My group of players are certainly starting to show that.” Thoughts on the moment involving Cerny? Let us know in the comments.
1 day ago
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Rodgers handed Rangers credit for their derby win and also namechecked No1 Jack Butland for his role in the result. But he admits it was a disappointing performance from his side and put some of that down to a Callum McGregor sized hole in his team.
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Speaking to Sky Sports, Rodgers explained: “There is no doubt we missed Callum. He gives real tactical balance in the game. Having to shift a couple of things around, but you see the importance of him, how quickly he can get through the pitch and tactically he is really good for the team. So I thought we missed him.
“I thought we were too rushed in our game, too slow and gave up the ball too cheaply. That was my thinking for the first half.
“In the moments they pressed it well. From our side we lacked a little bit of composure on the ball, rushed passes and misplaced passes. You give credit to Rangers, they’ve come here and won the game. That is never a nice feeling as a player or manager here. We are disappointed with the overall performance..”
Rangers No1 Jack Butland makes big save to deny Celtic
He continued: “You will have days like today. You never want it to be here at home. But there is a responsibility on everyone. We got back into the game in the second half, got into a great position and failed to capitalise on that.”
Asked if he felt they would go on and not only get the draw but win the game, he added: “Yeah, well that was what the feeling was. The early goal was very good for us.
“A really good move. One of the few moments we played like we normally play. Great cross and Daizen gets his goal.
“That felt good and you felt the energy in the stadium then we get the second goal. From there I expect us to put real pressure on and at the very least finish with a point. To lose the game like we did at the very end was frustrating.
“We really created that ourselves. The first one is a static position. The young guy [Nico] Raskin does really well at corners for someone who is not a centre-half. He is very quick across the ground, gets in front of Jeff [Jeffrey Schlupp] and scores. The second one we make the mistake and the third one as well we should deal with that better.
“But also give credit to Jack Butland. He’s made some brilliant saves. We created opportunities but it just wasn’t to be. “
