To A cacophony of unbridled glee from the stands decked in tricolours and a trio of late red cards, Celtic strolled past Rangers last night and into the final against Kilmarnock.
A pair of Henrik Larsson goals proved decisive before Rangers' Claudio Reyna was sent off in the dying seconds for two yellow cards. Lubomir Moravcik and Michael Mols clashed in the aftermath and were both dismissed.
More significantly, this high-octane dress rehearsal for Sunday's league derby may have tipped the psychological balance once and for all this season.
Though both clubs spent the build-up belittling this competition - "There's no UEFA Cup place at the end of this cup, just a bottle of whisky," the Rangers manager, Dick Advocaat, complained - the third Glaswegian tete-a-tete of the season offered as many psychological as tangible rewards.
The holders must have thought so, judging by their barn-storming start. Bert Konterman, flustered after a foul on Henrik Larsson, tugged back Chris Sutton after six minutes. Alan Thompson's subsequent free-kick was headed goalwards by Ramon Vega, leaping above Tore Andre Flo, and although Stefan Klos tipped the ball on to the bar, Sutton prodded home.
With the Gers fans stunned into silence and Advocaat flapping on the touchline, Robert Malcolm and Larsson wrestled to claim Vega's 17th-minute punt. When the defender stumbled, the Swedish striker gleefully lobbed the ball over the stranded Klos before dancing round the goalkeeper and tapping into the net.
Jonathan Gould flapped at a pair of Claudio Reyna crosses before, eight minutes before the interval, the ball bobbled into the area. A scrum of players converged upon it and, amid the chaos, referee Willie Young spotted Sutton tug back Scott Wilson; Jorg Albertz thumped in the resultant penalty.
The final minutes of the first half were notable for the sight of Reyna twice sending Paul Lambert crashing to the floor. Reyna was booked for the first but seemed to have played both man and ball for the second and he was quick to accuse the Celtic man of making a meal of the challenge.
Lambert appeared to be genuinely damaged but that did not stop Tugay from making his point known, in fluent English or not, that he felt Lambert had tried to get Reyna sent off.
In any case, it was the Turk not Lambert who failed to reappear after the break as he had been replaced by Allan Johnston.
Celtic also made a change, with Bobby Petta replacing Jackie McNamara, and it was the sight of the winger being sent flying by Konterman that was to set the tone for most of the remaining minutes.
The tension sweeping through the stands flowed on to the pitch; the play became messy and fragmented. The flurry of yellow cards suggested the game was steadily escaping the officials' grasp and, when Larsson and Wilson ended in a messy heap in the Rangers area, Young pointed to the spot.
Even in such a partisan match, the Celtic fans' reaction to the award betrayed their surprise. Larsson converted with ease.
CELTIC: Gould, Boyd (Johnson 90), Mjallby, Vega, McNamara (Petta 45), Lambert, Lennon, Petrov, Thompson, Larsson (Moravcik 75), Sutton. Subs Not Used: Tebily, Kharine. Sent Off: Moravcik (90). Booked: McNamara, Thompson. Goals: Sutton 6, Larsson 17, 69 pen.
RANGERS: Klos, Malcolm, Wilson, Konterman, Tugay (Johnston 45), Numan, Reyna, Ferguson, Albertz, Flo, McCann (Mols 59). Subs Not Used: Ricksen, Miller, Brown. Sent Off: Reyna (90), Mols (90). Booked: Reyna, Konterman, Johnston, Klos, Albertz, Ferguson. Goals: Albertz 37 pen.
Referee: W Young (Scotland).
