Rangers stretch SPL lead with late win in Old Firm derby
Rangers stretch SPL lead with late win in Old Firm derby
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By Darren Estwick. |  |
Sunday, 28, Feb 2010 04:11
By Lewis Bazley.
An injury time winner from Maurice Edu saw Rangers extend their lead in the Scottish Premier League (SPL) to ten points in the Old Firm clash at Ibrox.
Edu tapped the ball home in the 92nd minute to claim the three points for the hosts after Artur Boruc had saved a Kris Boyd strike.
Rangers will feel confident of retaining the SPL title after a lively game which saw Celtic midfielder Scott Brown sent off.
Both sides had early chances amid a feverish Ibrox atmosphere while Robbie Keane looked to have shaken off a recent niggling injury as he struck a powerful right-footed volley at Allan McGregor. The Rangers goalkeeper was up to the task however, with no evidence that recent headlines involving an incident in Glasgow city centre were playing on his mind.
Edu had a goal correctly disallowed after Kenny Miller's handball before Celtic could have taken the lead before the break. Marc-Antoine Fortune broke in the Rangers box but pulled his shot wide, leaving manager Tony Mowbray shaking his head in the Hoops dug-out.
Boruc then ensured the sides remained level at half-time with an acrobatic save from Boyd's close-range effort, though the striker was offside.
Rangers had a second-half penalty shout ruled out after Edu was pushed by Celtic's Andreas Hinkel before a crucial moment as Celtic skipper Brown was shown a straight red card.
The midfielder clashed with Rangers' Kyle Lafferty after a clearance and was given his marching orders after butting his head into Lafferty's chest.
And amid the many full-blooded tackles, Rangers looked increasingly likely to put their one-man advantage to good use, with Edu, Boyd and Miller all going close.
The superb Boruc then made another dramatic save, keeping out Sasa Papac's low effort but Celtic hearts were shattered in injury time as Edu pounced to claim the victory for Rangers after Boruc had parried Boyd's strike.
Team line-ups
Celtic: Boruc, Hinkel, Thompson, Rogne, Braafheid, Kamara, N'Guemo, Brown, McGeady, Keane, Fortune.
Subs: Zaluska, Samaras, Wilson, Ki, Rasmussen, Zhi, O'Dea.
Rangers: McGregor, Whittaker, Bougherra, Weir, Papac, Davis, McCulloch, Thomson, Lafferty, Miller, Boyd.
Subs: Alexander, Edu, Novo, Beasley, Fleck, Little, Wilson.
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