Celtic - 1 Rangers - 1SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Celtic and Rangers contrived to turn as meaningless an Old Firm fixture as there has been in recent times into a high noon showdown that ended with three players being ordered off in the last minute.
It was a remarkable finale to an otherwise mundane fixture as both teams, without a number of key individuals, played their cards close to their chests ahead of the Scottish Cup final.
Alan Thompson's 43rd-minute equaliser for Celtic had cancelled out Peter Lovenkrands's opening goal after only 80 seconds but the real drama came right at the end when a John Hartson header from a corner by Thompson rebounded off the bar to spark an unsavoury mêleé on the line.
Around 14 players became involved in the fracas after Johan Mjallby and Stefan Klos both went for the loose ball and when the referee, Kenny Clark, finally emerged from it all he pulled aside Celtic's Hartson and Mjallby and then Rangers' Fernando Ricksen and sent them all off.
None of the players sent off will be suspended, however, when the two sides meet again at Hampden Park on May 4 in the Scottish Cup final. But the arbitrary red cards stunned Parkhead and elicited all sorts of after-match reactions.
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill refused to rule out appeals against the decisions concerning his players. "It was really a disappointing end to essentially a good game and it wasn't right from what I have seen. I have just seen it back on the video quickly, but I thought John Hartson came in to calm things down and defuse the situation. That's very obvious from his arm movements.
"He slips over in the mêleé so I was surprised he was singled out. It was a great save from Stefan Klos, but Johan Mjallby was entitled to go for the ball. Fernando Ricksen has come in to protect the goalkeeper, but Johan has reacted to somebody pushing him down. Whether the referee thought he got up in an aggressive manner I don't know, but I thought there was nothing in it.
"Essentially, Kenny Clark is a good referee but this wasn't his best day. I would like the English system whereby officials can look again at incidents because the penal system here is pretty draconian."
The Ibrox reaction was a little different. "Ricksen wasn't so much violent as trying to stop his goalkeeper getting kicked but I can't condone it," said the Rangers manager Alex McLeish. "He shouldn't have become involved. The referee has to judge it according to what he sees and we'll abide by the decision." Thompson, though, no doubt spoke for many."It will all add a little spice to the final," he said with a smile.
Celtic, who started the match without Bobo Balde, Chris Sutton and Joos Valgaeren, therefore failed at the last hurdle to complete a 100 per cent record at home this season. They were disappointed about that and were not cheered by the sight of Paul Lambert limping off and going straight to hospital for an X-ray on an injured ankle. His place in the cup final next month must now be in jeopardy.
In contrast, Rangers - who were missing more players in Craig Moore, Barry Ferguson, Bert Konterman, Stephen Hughes, Neil McCann, Shota Arveladze, Tony Vidmar and Claudio Caniggia - probably considered the draw a moral victory.
Celtic were struggling to secure their cherished record after the explosive start provided by Lovenkrands. The Danish international pounced on a long ball which was miscontrolled by Celtic veteran Tom Boyd and drove a 20-yard-shot past goalkeeper Robert Douglas with the aid of a deflection off Mjallby.
Lovenkrands squandered two more chances as Rangers' counter-attacking exposed Celtic, before Thompson made it 1-1 just before half-time. Lubomir Moravcik steered a header into the path of Hartson before Thompson drilled a shot past Klos from 10 yards.
McLeish has yet to lose to Celtic in three derby games since taking over from Dick Advocaat.
"We should have been 3-0 up by half-time, but Celtic are not champions for nothing and we were under pressure in the second half," he said.
"They are the yardstick for us and, hopefully, we can match them in the league next season."
CELTIC: Douglas, Mjallby, Boyd, Crainey, Agathe, Lambert (Petrov 47), Lennon, Moravcik (Guppy 72), Thompson, Larsson, Hartson. Subs Not Used: Gould, McNamara, Smith. Sent Off: Mjallby (89), Hartson (89). Booked: Lambert, Boyd, Thompson. Goal: Thompson 43.
RANGERS: Klos, Ross, Malcolm, Amoruso, Numan, Ricksen, Latapy (de Boer 61), Nerlinger, Kanchelskis, Flo (Mols 70), Lovenkrands. Subs Not Used: McGregor, Dowie, Dodds. Sent Off: Ricksen (89). Booked: Amoruso, Kanchelskis. Goals: Lovenkrands 2.
Referee: K Clark (Scotland).
