Neil Lennon walked into the first Old Firm derby of the season on Sunday with an undefeated record as Celtic manager at Ibrox. Being undefeated at the home of any team’s rivals is quite the accomplishment; never mind it being the other half of the Old Firm.
As the former Northern Ireland captain departed the blue side of Glasgow on Sunday afternoon, his record had been well and truly shattered but perhaps that is a good thing.
Having lead 2-1 at half-time, Lennon could only watch on helplessly as his side allowed their bitter rivals to score three unanswered goals and claim the first bragging rights of the new Scottish Premier League season.
For as much luck as there was about Celtic’s second goal; it was matched by wonderful technique for their first. Gary Hooper was slipped inside the Rangers defence by Scott Brown and with quick feet, placed the ball into the very bottom corner of the goal to cancel out Steven Naismith’s spectacular opener for the champions. Then on the stroke of half-time, Badr El Kaddouri drove a timid shot straight at Allan McGregor that somehow managed to find its way through the Scotland goalkeeper and into the net.
Neither defence had looked particularly solid in the opening exchanges and as they marched off the pitch; Lennon and the Celtic coaching staff will have felt pretty confident about holding on for all three points. A level of performance matching the efforts of the first 45 minutes should have done the trick for the visitors.
Instead, Celtic sat far too deep, welcomed continued pressure from Rangers and were punished for lapses in concentration. After a bright start to the second half, Nikica Jelavic ghosted onto the end of Steven Davis’ corner unmarked and powered in an equalising headers. And where Glenn Loovens saw his own header hitting the Rangers post and then be pounced on the scrambling Gers’ defence, Kyle Lafferty was allowed plenty of chances to score the goal that eventually put his team in front.
The frontman had a smart finish ruled out for offside, headed an excellent Gregg Wylde cross over the bar and wasted an opportune volley before squeaking home his goal at the second time of asking. Lafferty’s initial shot was charged down by the Celtic but with the Hoops slow to react, the Northern Irish man had time to create space for himself before firing the ball underneath Fraser Forster.
From the winning position, Rangers did what Celtic couldn’t. They closed the game down, restricted Celtic’s attacking options and frustrated their opponents. Steve Naismith popped up in injury time to make the score line appear comprehensive for McCoist on his Old Firm game as the Rangers supremo.
There are positives for Neil Lennon to take away from the game. Not just that they scored two goals at Ibrox, or created quite a few other chances. The overwhelming positive from the game has to be the result keeps Celtic well in the race for the Scottish Premier League crown.
Rangers have moved four points clear of their Glasgow rivals at the top of the table and done so by bettering them; but recent history in the SPL isn’t kind to the side that prevails in the head-to-heads between Scotland’s biggest clubs.
Before the game, as mentioned, Lennon boasted an unbeaten record at Ibrox. Last season he saw his side claim seven points from the four Old Firm league matches but still end the season as runners-up. In fact, over the last ten seasons only four teams have got the better of the four Old Firm games and gone on to lift the Scottish Premier League title.
Victory and dominance in the showpiece games of the Scottish season don’t guarantee success.
Whether the result draws complacency from the victors or forces the side on the receiving end to work harder in claiming points against the rest of the SPL clubs; it’s hard to say.
It’s probably a little mixture of both.
Streaking out in front of your rival only serves to give them a target and a purpose. It provides the defeated manager with material for every team-talk, team briefing and rallying cry and gives the entire squad their motivation. For leaders, it can cause matters to get quite tight.
For now, the blue side of the city can stand the taller. They were well worth their comeback in the second half and gave Celtic no end of trouble. Rightly, they sit at the very top of the Scottish Premier League table. But come May; Neil Lennon could be pretty thankful his record against Rangers isn’t as excellent as it was.
Photo courtesy of jock_dj83.
