Celtic had to battle hard for a point in a compelling match against Motherwell yesterday that restores their three-point cushion at the top of the table.
Much more significant is the gap of 13 points which has now opened up between the two Glasgow rivals after Rangers' shock 3-0 defeat at home to Kilmarnock on Saturday. It was their third successive league defeat and leaves manager Dick Advocaat having to fight his way out of the worst corner he has known in 20 years as a coach.
But Celtic will feel aggrieved not to have secured an outright victory here after referee Hugh Dallas failed to spot a Johan Mjallby "goal" which television replays proved had crossed the line midway through the second half.
An ankle injury prevented Chris Sutton from taking part but even in his absence Celtic dominated the opening exchanges. The Motherwell goalkeeper Stephen Woods exhibited his vulnerability by failing to collect a 14th-minute corner which Henrik Larsson immediately headed back into a crowded area, where Mjallby was waiting to blast in from unmissable range.
Motherwell forced an equaliser within 10 minutes. Joos Valgaeren half-managed to cut out a through ball, allowing John Spencer to put in a cross that Tom Boyd could only help up into the air and, when it came down, Derek Adams beat Valgaeren and headed into the net.
Eight minutes after half-time, Motherwell took the lead for the only time in the game. Brannan was the architect with a superb pass that sent Stuart Elliott heading menacingly for goal and, although he ended up with only a corner, it was enough to supply Lee McCulloch for a headed finish.
But that lead lasted just four minutes as Motherwell themselves failed to deal with a set-piece, a corner delivered by Alan Thompson. Larsson nodded it down and Valgaeren smashed it in from close range.
Then came the frustration of Mjallby's disallowed goal. Celtic manager Martin O'Neill was shown the footage and concluded that it was "an obvious goal".
But he added: "It was a great game, so there's no point crying over spilt milk. The one thing I will say, though, is to all those people who say we've had all the decisions going our way - that will knock you back."
As if aggrieved by the decision, Celtic took the lead in the 72nd minute through Jackie McNamara, who rolled the ball past Woods after Larsson set him up.
Yet Motherwell were not to be denied. Mjallby pushed the substitute Don Goodman over in the area and Brannan made no mistake from the spot to win a precious point for his side.
Dick Advocaat must have looked on enviously at the endeavour and spirit shown by Celtic. His side can boast only one win, one draw and five defeats so far this month. Rangers are in the midst of their worst slump in the Scottish Premier League for seven years, while Saturday was the first
time in 10 years that they lost three games in a row. Rubbing salt into Ibrox wounds is a sudden turnaround of fortunes in the Champions League which had started so brightly but which now threatens to collapse against Monaco a week tomorrow.
In addition, his Rangers squad is currently being crippled by injury, with Stefan Klos, Michael Mols, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Jorg Albertz, Barry Ferguson and Claudio Reyna ruled out along with six others.
Rumours persist that there is disharmony in the Rangers dressing room - at least according to one former alumnus, Ally McCoist. Advocaat also has a liability in his captain Lorenzo Amoruso, who on Saturday, not for the first time, indulged in a row with a team-mate on the pitch - this time Arthur Numan.
"It was another poor performance from us," said Advocaat. "We are lacking confidence right now, not just as a team, but individually as well. The players' confidence is low and it is my job to rebuild that."
MOTHERWELL: Woods, Corrigan, Kemble, Strong, Hammell, Adams (Townsley 73), Brannan, McMillan (Leitch 66), Elliott, Spencer, McCulloch (Goodman 63). Subs not used: Connolly, McClen. Booked: Strong, McCulloch, Corrigan. Goals: Adams 22, McCulloch 53, Brannan 78 pen.
CELTIC: Gould, Valgaeren, Mjallby (Stubbs 80), Boyd, McNamara, Lambert, Petrov, Thompson, Petta, Larsson, Agathe (Moravcik 83). Subs not used: Johnson, Douglas, Healy. Goals: Mjallby 13, Valgaeren 57, McNamara 71.
Referee: H Dallas (Scotland).
