|
|
 |
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE | |
Digging deep Celtic tops Rangers 2-0 in first 'Old Firm' match
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) -- Stilian Petrov scored in the 14th and Alan Thompson got the clincher in second-half injury time as Celtic defeated Rangers 2-0 on Sunday in the first Scottish "Old Firm" match of the season. The victory at Rangers Ibrox stadium increased Celtic's lead to seven points atop the Scottish Premier League -- 25 points to 18 over Rangers. It also continued Celtic's recent domination over its bitter crosstown rival. Celtic won three of four "Old Firm" games last season en route to winning both Scottish cups and the league title. It was the first time Celtic posted back-to-back victories over Rangers at Ibrox since 1983. Taking advantage of a goalkeeping error by Rangers Stefan Klos, Petrov scored on a free kick in the 14th minute from 25 meters (yards). The German goalkeeper clearly was responsible for the goal as the kick bounced a few feet (a meter) in front of him and then went in off his hands as he tried to block the bouncing ball. Celtic should have gone up 2-0 in the 66th, but Klos redeemed himself and stopped Henrik Larsson's penalty with a diving save to his left. Rangers lost defender Lorenzo Amuroso on a red card on the play that prompted the penalty. With a man advantage, Thompson scored two minutes into second-half injury time as he twisted a right-footed shot from 18 meters (yards) just inside the post to Klos' left. "It was a great win for us over what I would consider a top-class team," Celtic manager Martin O'Neill said. "We had to dig deep in the first half and we were under severe pressure. In the second half we were more into the game." O'Neill defended Larsson, who scored a record 52 goals last season. "I think he [Larsson] is disappointed he missed the penalty. It's still hard to score goals. But all's well that ends well." American midfielder Claudio Reyna, who hadn't played since Aug. 22 with a groin pull, started for Rangers and played for 67 minutes before going off with a slight limp. Reyna seemed to moved well during the time he played and missed a perfect goalscoring chance early in the second half when he failed to connect from point-blank range.
| |||||||||||||||||||||
