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Goal difference Celtic regroups as Scottish race goes to the wirePosted: Thursday May 22, 2003 12:07 PMGLASGOW (Reuters) -- Celtic and Rangers have been slugging it out for supremacy in the Scottish League since 1890, but never before has the battle for the championship been as close as this season. Going into Sunday's last round of fixtures, the two Glasgow rivals are level on points and goal difference with Rangers inching in front by virtue of having scored one more goal. Consequently, with Rangers expected to beat Dunfermline at Ibrox and Celtic to win at fourth-placed Kilmarnock, it will all be about goals. The odds favor Rangers slightly. They have the advantage of a home fixture, while defending champions Celtic have a potentially awkward trip to Rugby Park, just four days after their mentally and physically draining UEFA Cup final defeat by Porto. There remains the possibility that the two front-runners could end the day level on points, goal difference and goals scored, producing what would be a momentous playoff to decide the title. It would be Rangers' 50th title, while Celtic are seeking their 39th and third in a row. Such is the gulf in Scotland that the next-best are Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibernian, who have each won it four times. Another title for Rangers would also keep them on course for a domestic treble, having already won the League Cup and with Dundee lying in wait in the Scottish Cup final on May 31. In contrast, Celtic could have a treble disappointment, having already lost in the League Cup and UEFA Cup finals. Last year Rangers won both Scottish domestic cups in what was hailed a successful first season in charge for manager Alex McLeish. Twelve months on, however, they will feel like failures if they finish with "just" the same two trophies. Ibrox victory Rangers have set the pace for most of the season and in April were nine points clear, albeit from more games, before Celtic reopened the race with their 2-1 Old Firm victory at Ibrox a month ago. Since then it's been nail-biting stuff, with every goal and every miss taking on ever-increasing importance. Celtic drew level on points and edged ahead on goals with 4-1 and 4-0 wins over Dunfermline and Motherwell as Rangers, missing two penalties, were held to a 2-2 draw at Dundee. Rangers regained the initiative with a 4-0 win over Kilmarnock, only for Celtic to haul themselves back ahead by thumping Dundee 6-2. Rangers then beat Hearts 2-0 last week, after missing another penalty, to leave it all square. With a 50,000 crowd behind them and a week's rest in their legs, Rangers are in confident mood. "The energy of the Rangers fans behind us at home will be a big factor," says McLeish. This season's form book also supports Rangers. In their three previous league meetings with Dunfermline, they have won 6-0, 3-0 and 3-1. In contrast, Celtic have not found Kilmarnock such comfortable opponents. Their first meeting was a 5-0 home win but they were held to a 1-1 draw on their last visit to Rugby Park in December and had to work hard for a 2-0 home success last month. It will not be easy either for the players to lift themselves after the disappointment of losing their first European final for 33 years. They will need some time physically to recover from two hours of hard-chasing in the stifling heat of Seville, while the mental scars from the last-gasp 3-2 defeat could last a lifetime. Rangers-Celtic playoff would not be the firstGLASGOW (Reuters) -- Glasgow is awash with talk of a championship-deciding playoff between Rangers and Celtic as the arch-rivals go into Sunday's final games of the season locked together at the top. Both teams have 94 points and a goal difference of plus 68, with Rangers claiming top spot by the narrowest margin having scored 95 goals to Celtic's 94. Rangers host Dunfermline while Celtic travel to Kilmarnock, and if both win by the same margin but Celtic score one more goal -- eg 2-0 to Rangers and 3-1 to Celtic -- the league will be decided in a playoff at Hampden Park on June 3. In terms of interest, it would dwarf the Scottish Cup final at the same venue four days earlier when Rangers, still on course for a domestic treble, play Dundee. But it would not be unprecedented. The inaugural Scottish League title, in the 1890/91 season, went to a playoff after Rangers and Dumbarton finished with 29 points. However, the "decider" ended level at 2-2 so the championship was shared. In 1905, Celtic and Rangers finished together at the top on 41 points, but Celtic took the title after a 2-1 win in a playoff at Hampden. In the 1922-23 season the Scottish league introduced the concept of "goal average" -- the number of goals scored divided by the number of goals against to decide such situations. It was used to decide the 1953 championship in favor of Rangers after they finished level with Hibernian and the 1965 title for Kilmarnock at the expense of Hearts. The problem, though, was that nobody could work it out at a glance and there was relief all round when the system was replaced by the more straightforward goal difference in 1972. It has never been needed to decide the title, though it was close in 1991. Rangers and Aberdeen, level on points and goal difference, met in the final game of the season at Ibrox. Aberdeen, two ahead on goals scored, needed only a draw but two goals by striker Mark Hateley gave Rangers a 2-0 victory and the title. The last time the championship was decided on the final day was in 1998 when Celtic, two points ahead of Rangers, beat St Johnstone 2-0 to take the title and end their rivals' dream of winning 10 in a row. Celtic must regroup for one final pushSEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) -- Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has just three days to lift his players for one final push following their agonizing UEFA Cup final defeat by Porto. O'Neill watched his side, reduced to 10 men early in extra time when Bobo Balde was sent off, lose 3-2 to a silver goal by Derlei Silva in the 115th minute of a match that could so easily have gone Celtic's way. The Northern Irishman will have to focus on the final Scottish premier league game of the season away to Kilmarnock on Sunday, though, when Celtic could yet give their immensely loyal fans something to celebrate by retaining their title. The title race could hardly be closer, with Celtic and Rangers level on points and with the same goal difference, Rangers leading their arch-rivals by virtue of having scored one more goal. There will be a world of difference between a tight, edgy European final played in front of 53,000 fans in searing heat and an afternoon game at Kilmarnock, when Celtic will have to take every chance to edge out a Rangers side with the advantage of playing at home to Dunfermline. O'Neill's task will be to prepare his team for the different requirements of such an important domestic game. "Balde was the man sent off, but everyone else was just as disappointed," O'Neill said. "Alan Thompson, for example, was absolutely inconsolable. "We were in a European final, and they don't come around too often. There's a deep sense of disappointment because we could have won it." Celtic's best hope of beating Kilmarnock and outscoring Rangers will be the explosive form of Henrik Larsson. The Swedish striker twice brought Celtic level against Porto with headers to leave the match poised at 2-2 at the end of normal time. Those goals, his 200th and 201st for the club, brought his tally in this season's UEFA Cup to 11, adding to the 28 he has scored in the league. "It was a world-class performance from a world-class player," O'Neill said. Celtic need one more such performance against Kilmarnock on Sunday to give them a chance of finishing a remarkable season on a happy note. Celtic boss frustrated at last-gasp UEFA final defeatSEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) -- Celtic manager Martin O'Neill was bitterly disappointed with the manner of his side's 3-2 UEFA Cup final defeat by Porto after extra-time on Wednesday. O'Neill was unhappy with what he saw as time-wasting by Porto after their third goal and was also frustrated by the sending-off of defender Bobo Balde early in extra-time, a decision he felt had a big effect on the match. "I wasn't pleased with Porto's style," O'Neill told reporters after Derlei Silva's 115th minute "silver goal" gave Porto victory. "They have very talented players and I wasn't pleased at all. You saw the reception they got from the Celtic fans when they collected their medals and Celtic fans are as fair as there are in Europe." Celtic twice came from behind to equalize through Henrik Larsson to leave the scores level at 90 minutes, only for Derlei's late strike to seal the trophy for Porto. "I'm very, very proud of the team and disappointed, obviously," O'Neill said. Fantastic effort "The sending-off had a big effect. Four seconds earlier Larsson had been fouled on the edge of the box and the referee had waved play on. "It was a fantastic effort from the players, though." O'Neill stressed he was not being critical of 35-year-old Slovakian referee Lubos Michel, calling the tackle that brought Balde his second booking "mistimed." "I'm not saying the sending-off wasn't warranted," O'Neill said. "The referee is young and he'll learn, but it's gone and we can't change it. "Hopefully, we can learn from it too. Managers and coaches will tell you that you need this sort of experience before you go on to take the next step. "We had a taste of the Champions League last year and we've gone the distance here. This is where you aspire to be." Celtic fans outnumbered Porto supporters by around three to one and many thousands more were locked outside the ground or watching the game on television in the bars of Seville. "I was taken aback by the fans," O'Neill said. "It was a fantastic sight. "I think there were as many fans outside the ground as
inside. They love their football."
Both the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. |
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