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Trivia
- Celtic underlined their unwillingness to give up the SPL title with a thoroughly deserved win.
- Rangers missed Ronald de Boer more than Celtic missed Henrik Larsson.
Review
It was fully 14 minutes before either side created an opening and it was Celtic who came close to taking the lead. Stilian Petrov swung in a corner that was missed by Maurice Ross and fell to Hartson, but the Welshman could not direct his effort on target. Petrov then had a shot deflected wide from 25 yards after some slack defensive play by Rangers.
Hartson missed a glaring opportunity after 50 minutes after losing his marker to get on the end of Alan Thompson's cross, but his header from six yards flashed wide.
The deadlock was broken in 57 minutes after Joos Valgaeren broke up a Rangers move to spark a Celtic counter-attack. The ball was played up to Sutton who beat both Jerome Bonnissel and Amoruso in the air to knock the ball into the path of the unmarked Hartson, who volleyed an unstoppable shot past Stefan Klos.
Moments later, Moore was perhaps fortunate not be shown a second yellow card when he caught Lambert after the ball had gone.
Neil Lennon came within inches of putting Celtic two ahead midway through the second half when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box, but his first-time effort flew the wrong side of the post.
Lambert came just as close to doubling the Celtic lead when he and Sutton combined with only Ferguson back, but the Englishman's cross just evaded his captain in the middle.
Teams
Celtic:-
Douglas, Mjallby, Balde, Valgaeren, Agathe (Sylla 35), Lambert, Lennon, Petrov (McNamara 84), Thompson, Sutton, Hartson.
Subs not used:- Broto, Maloney, Crainey.
Goal:- Hartson 57.
Booked:- Sutton.
Rangers:-
Klos, Ross (Konterman 84), Moore, Amoruso, Bonnissel (Thompson 68), Ricksen, Arteta (Caniggia 74), Ferguson, Lovenkrands, Arveladze, McCann.
Subs not used:- McGregor, Malcolm.
Booked:- Ricksen, McCann.
Att:- 58,787
Ref:- M McCurry.
Articles
Pictures
Hartson buoys Celtic hopes
BBC
Celtic 1-0 Rangers
Celtic underlined their unwillingness to give up the SPL title with a thoroughly deserved win over Rangers at Celtic Park.
The home side were on top throughout and will probably feel they should have more than John Hartson's fierce 57th-minute strike to show for their superiority.
Rangers were disappointing and missed Ronald de Boer more than Celtic missed Henrik Larsson.
With so much at stake it was no surprise that the match began tentatively for both sides.
It was fully 14 minutes before either side created an opening and it was the home side who came close to taking the lead.
Stilian Petrov swung in a corner that was missed by Maurice Ross and fell to Hartson, but the Welshman could not direct his effort on target.
Rangers' first effort on goal did not arrive until the 27th minute when Shota Arveladze laid the ball into the path of Mikel Arteta on the edge of the box, but the young midfielder's left-foot shot flew just wide.
At the other end, Petrov had a shot deflected wide from 25 yards after some slack defensive play by Rangers.
Five minutes before the break, it was Rangers' turn to defend and Maurice Ross and Ricksen both blocked goalbound efforts.
We're still behind Rangers but three points was valuable
Celtic's Chris Sutton
Post-match reaction
Hartson missed a glaring opportunity after 50 minutes after losing his marker to get on the end of Alan Thompson's cross, but his header from six yards flashed wide.
Peter Lovenkrands used his pace to good effect for the first time five minutes later to break free of the Celtic defence, but he was forced wide and Rab Douglas dealt easily with his shot.
The deadlock was broken in 57 minutes after Joos Valgaeren broke up a Rangers move to spark a Celtic counter-attack.
The ball was played up to Sutton who beat both Jerome Bonnissel and Amoruso in the air to knock the ball into the path of the unmarked Hartson, who volleyed an unstoppable shot past Stefan Klos.
Moments later, Moore was perhaps fortunate not be shown a second yellow card when he caught Lambert with his shoulder after the ball had gone.
Neil Lennon came within inches of putting Celtic two ahead midway through the second half when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box, but his first-time effort flew the wrong side of the post.
Lambert came just as close to doubling the Celtic lead when he and Sutton combined with only Ferguson back, but the Englishman's cross just evaded his captain in the middle.
Douglas saved well from a powerful Arveladze shot as Rangers at last threatened the Celtic goal.
With only a minute remaining, the Celtic keeper earned his win bonus with a fantastic save from Amoruso's long-range free kick.
Have your say: BBC Scotland Fans Forum
Celtic: Douglas, Mjallby, Balde, Valgaeren, Agathe (Sylla 35), Lambert, Lennon, Petrov (McNamara 84), Thompson, Sutton, Hartson.
Subs Not Used: Broto, Maloney, Crainey.
Booked: Sutton.
Rangers: Klos, Ross (Konterman 84), Moore, Amoruso, Bonnissel (Thompson 68), Ricksen, Arteta (Caniggia 74), Ferguson, Lovenkrands, Arveladze, McCann.
Subs Not Used: McGregor, Malcolm.
Booked: Ricksen, McCann.
Att: 58,787
Ref: M McCurry
Celtic heavies threaten Liverpool
Graham Clark at Celtic Park
The Guardian, Monday 10 March 2003 21.58 GMT
Liverpool's defenders, used to dealing with the intricacies of Premiership strikers such as Thierry Henry and Gianfranco Zola, will encounter an altogether different threat when they follow Rangers into Celtic Park this week.
It is unlikely the goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek and co, for all their experience, will have come up against anything quite like the dangers presented by giants such as Joos Valgaeren, Bobo Baldé, Johan Mjallby, Chris Sutton and John Hartson.
There is nothing subtle about the way these players attack at Celtic's set pieces and this is a potent weapon in the armoury of Martin O'Neill's team, who are now eyeing Uefa Cup glory after a domes tic success which put the Premier League championship chase firmly back into the melting pot.
Rangers' manager Alex McLeish underlined the point when he said: "Celtic are a big, strong team who use their set pieces well and the best we could have hoped for with the performance was a draw."
Height and strength created the only goal of an uninspiring Old Firm fixture, a factor which will have been noted by the watching Alex Miller, a Liverpool spy and former Rangers player.
The lightweight visitors also contributed to their own downfall. Mikel Arteta was caught dithering in midfield, a practice neither wise nor rewarding in this fixture, and Valgaeren released Alan Thompson. His cross was met by Sutton hanging above Lorenzo Amoruso for a clever header which Hartson dispatched with a ferocious volley.
O'Neill described Hartson's strike as "sensational" and added: "It was a wonderful finish from a wonderful player."
Earlier the Welshman had been guilty of two glaring misses: he miskicked from four yards in the first half and sent an unmarked header wide from close range in the second. O'Neill said: "He was ready to come into the dressing room to apologise for chances he missed but he didn't have to. This was the ideal way to start what is going to be a demanding, but exciting, spell."
Paul Lambert also praised Hartson, saying: "His ratio of goals to games started is unbelievable. He helped us to the win we deserved and needed to keep the title challenge going."
The display from Hartson's strike partner Sutton drew admiring comments from Neil Lennon, who had a formidable match in midfield. Lennon said: "Chris is top-class and if people don't know that by now they never will. He scored 25 goals when we won the league last year and has proved his class time and again at the highest level in Europe.
"He made a rod for his own back by not playing for England B a few years ago and he knows that, so I'm not even sure he would ever go back."
Although Hartson's goal was all that eventually separated the teams, the scoreline did Celtic a disservice. Content in the knowledge that Rangers, for whom only Amoruso and Craig Moore have a genuine physical presence, would struggle to cope with a bombardment, they basically followed the plan through.
Apart from the efforts missed and converted by Hartson, who was being watched by the Wales manager Mark Hughes, Stilian Petrov also went close and Thompson might have had a penalty after being brought down by Moore on half-time.
After the goal, with Rangers finally pushing forward, Celtic created further chances whereas the Ibrox team won their first corner after 78 minutes and seriously tested Robert Douglas only through a fierce Amoruso drive a minute from time.
The league leaders, missing Ronald de Boer more than the opposition missed Henrik Larsson, had Fernando Ricksen, Moore and Neil McCann booked, were as ineffective as at any time this season and duly paid the price.
Lennon rubbed salt into their wounds when he said: "We outfought, out-tackled and outplayed them. In fact, we out-everythinged them."
Rangers, on the surface at least, remained calm although Moore said: "It was a kick up the backside but we have to put it behind us."
McLeish remained in confident mood, saying: "This time last year we were 12 points behind them and now we're still top of the table with a lot to be positive about."
This was all much more about Celtic, though, given a remarkable run of fixtures which now, over only 11 days from Thursday, takes in two games against Liverpool, a CIS Insurance Cup final against Rangers next weekend and finally a Tennent's Scottish Cup tie against Inverness Caley Thistle.