THE giant nets which Celtic hung from the roofs of the South Stand and the Jock Stein Stand may have prevented the 2,500 or so Rangers supporters who returned to Parkhead for the first time in over a year from being pelted by missiles by their less sensible fans today.
Unfortunately for the Scottish champions, their players could not provide their goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel with similar protection when it mattered most in this exhilarating William Hill Premiership match.
Brendan Rodgers’ side, who conceded first half goals to Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diomande, staged a spirit second half fightback this afternoon and drew level through a Daizen Maeda header and a Reo Hatate strike.
But Rangers substitute Hamza Igamane clinched the victory – the Ibrox club’s first in the East End of Glasgow since the October of 2020 - with two minutes of regulation time remaining.
The Moroccan striker capitalised on a slip by right-back Alistair Johnston and lashed a sensational shot beyond Schmeichel and into the top right corner before sliding on his knees to the corner flag to celebrate with his side’s ecstatic followers.
This result will have no bearing on the outcome of the Scottish title race as Celtic are still 13 points clear with eight games remaining. But, boy, was this a sweet victory for Rangers and their fans. Here are five talking points from a classic encounter.
Nawrocki chance
The loss of both Auston Trusty and Liam Scales saw the lesser spotted Maik Nawrocki drafted into the Celtic starting line-up for the first time since a meaningless Premiership match against St Mirren in May last year.
The 24-year-old, a £4.3m signing from Legia Warsaw in his native Poland back in 2023, had made just two substitute appearances this season before this afternoon’s encounter.
He had been on the park for less than half an hour in the Premier Sports Cup tie against Falkirk and the Scottish Cup meeting with Raith Rovers. Having to pitch a player who looks destined to depart in the summer was far from ideal for Rodgers.
Still, Nawrocki had experience of the fixture. He replaced Stephen Welsh in the first half of the league game against Rangers at Parkhead back in the December of 2023 and had helped the hosts record a 2-1 win. Could he rise to the occasion?
The ease with which Raskin broke the deadlock in the third minute – the midfielder, called up to the full Belgian squad for the first time this week, rose above his marker Jeffrey Schlupp and nodded James Tavernier corner beyond Schmeichel – suggested there were issues in the makeshift Celtic rearguard early on.
But Nawrocki did superbly to deny Vaclav Cerny after Schmeichel had passed straight to the Czech winger. Cerny should really, with an empty net beckoning, have got his shot away early. He would have doubled his side’s lead if he had done so. Still, the defender did well to block his eventual effort. He impressed throughout.
Rangers heart
Ferguson made just one change to the Rangers side despite their gruelling Europa League match against Fenerbahce in Govan on Thursday night – Ridvan Yilmaz took over from Jefte and left wing-back
The Brazilian winger was absent from the squad due to a personal issue. However, the presence of a specialist defender in the away team was maybe no bad thing for them given the form of their wide man Nicolas Kuhn. Still, not freshening things up was was something of a gamble.
There was, though, no hangover from their midweek exertions. If anything, their confidence was boosted by their epic triumph. They were well worth their victory.
Raskin showed they meant business in just the third minute when he forced Schmeichel to palm wide. Cerny and Leon Balogun, who had a header cleared off the line, were unfortunate not to increase their lead. Diomande eventually did so seven minutes before half-time when he controlled a Raskin flick and found the bottom left corner.
Defensively they were rock solid. Jack Butland produced a one-handed save from a powerful Hatate shot that was heading towards his top right corner and kept out a Nawrocki header. Dujon Sterling hooked a Maeda header to safety with an acrobatic clearance.
They pressed their opponents in every area of the pitch from start to finish, nullified the threat posed by Alistair Johnston, Kuhn and Jota on the flanks and generally showed far more fight and flair. Ferguson and his coaching staff deserve huge credit. Calls for them to be kept on are sure to increase after this.
McCowan class
Callum McGregor always performs at a high level for Celtic whenever he takes to the field. But his personal displays in matches against Rangers have frequently been exceptional. He has often been the dominant player on the park in them in the past few seasons.
Would Luke McCowan be able to fill the considerable void his skipper had left in the middle of the park? He made his debut against the Ibrox club days after arriving from Dundee back in September and had come on at Ibrox in January. But this was his first start.
Arne Engels dropped deep and McCowan took over from him in his more advanced role alongside Reo Hatate. He showed good vision to find Daizen Maeda with a chip on the edge of the Rangers area after the opener as he and his team mates pushed for an equaliser. He competed well with on-form Raskin too thereafter.
The £1m signing created the equaliser for Hatate with 16 minutes of regulation time remaining with a perfectly-weighted pass.
Second half fightback foiled
Rodgers needed to make a change at half-time and he duly did so – he removed the ineffectual Kuhn, threw on Adam Idah up front and moved Maeda to his favoured position on the left wing. The change had the desired impact.
Celtic pulled one back just four minutes into the second half when Jota jinked into the box and chipped to Maeda at the back post. His team mate did well to nod home from a few yards out. The decibel levels inside the stadium went through the roof.
When Balogun limped off and was replaced by Robin Propper, the Dutch centre-back who has looked suspect under pressure at times this term, the home supporters’ hopes their men could salvage a draw or record a win increased.
McCowan nearly levelled when he fired inches past the post. But he teed up Hatate for the equaliser after Yang Hyun-jun had come on for Jota. Butland saved from Schlupp and Connor Barron hit the side netting.
It was pulsating, end-to-end, raucous entertainment which you could not take your eyes off for a second. Igamane finally settled it at the death.
Away fans back
Before today’s game, Rangers fans had been conspicuous by their absence from Parkhead on Old Firm day since 2023 and had not been present in large numbers in the East End of Glasgow since way back in 2018.
Their long overdue return was welcomed by everyone who has bemoaned the bizarre atmosphere which the world-famous fixture has been played out in while away supporters have been missing.
A St Patrick’s Day tribute to the Irish players who had represented them during their 136 year history on the giants screens ratcheted up the emotion inside the ground before kick-off.
But it was the Bears who were in better voice during the opening 45 minutes. Yes, the sectarian song book was given a full airing by those on both sides of the divide. More must be done to rid the Scottish game of these chants. It was, too, sad to see flares set off following the final whistle.
Still, at least there were no eerie silences after goals. There was an intensity to proceedings which has been badly missing. This was a fantastic advertisement for the Scottish game.
