Rangers humbled in own backyard -
Football
Times, The (London, England)
April 30, 2001
Author: Kevin McCarra
Estimated printed pages: 4


Kevin McCarra watches Celtic triumph 3-0 over rivals at Ibrox yesterday

THERE were more than 50,000 people inside the stadium, but a humbled silence, at last, must fall over Rangers. Picked off yesterday by two refined finishes from Lubomir Moravcik and Henrik Larsson's 50th goal, they have been beaten in four of the five Old Firm games this season and this was Celtic's first victory at Ibrox in seven years.
Since Martin O'Neill's team clinched the title, Rangers have found graciousness impossible and kept harping on about their own misfortunes.

The theme dragged on into the match programme for this fixture, where Dick Advocaat, the Rangers manager, declared vaingloriously that his team, at its strongest, is "more than a match" for Celtic. Here, both sides were depleted only to the normal degree by injuries, yet, as the final whistle approached, Advocaat's demoralised players looked as if they no longer wanted to be on the same field as Celtic, let alone try to prove their superiority.

Rangers are a great club that has always prized its reputation, but in addition to restructuring their squad over the summer they ought also endeavour to recover a dignified attitude. For all anyone can tell, they may be champions again a year from now, yet there is a marked feeling that the absolute domination they have enjoyed, almost unbroken, since the end of the 1980s will not be seen again so long as O'Neill is in charge of Celtic. Everyone had better get used to it.

All Celtic's new-found characteristics were on belligerent exhibition here, where Rangers were permitted just one good chance. It came in the 22nd minute of a match that Advocaat's players had been controlling and a goal appeared unavoidable following Jorg Albertz's pass and Arthur Numan's superb cross, but Rod Wallace, in a needless attempt to angle the ball, headed beyond the post. As O'Neill pointed out, that miss "galvanised" Celtic.

Thereafter, the visitors began to hold possession and starve Rangers of opportunities. Celtic have not reached a tally of four Old Firm wins in a season since 1983 and it is the solidity of the side's structure that supports such form. With players of Johan Mjallby's calibre operating with an aggressive flawlessness in defence, the side rarely needs to retrieve a deficit. They have the bloody-mindedness natural to all successful teams.

Once Celtic had staked out territory in this game, they started to develop their play. O'Neill had insisted on finding a niche in the line-up for creative ability and, to widespread surprise, Moravcik was not trapped among the substitutes. There had been a suspicion that delicate skills of a veteran might not be appropriate and that Celtic's central midfield trio would be assembled out of iron-clad competitors.

Rangers could not afford to be negligent, yet Bert Konterman, the subject of scathing criticism by many of his own supporters, made another poor decision. As Neil Lennon, in the 61st minute, fed the ball through to Larsson, Konterman stood on the outside of him and the Swede laid possession off to the inside, giving Moravcik a clear run into the penalty area. There was still work to be done, but it was of the sort that suits the deft Slovak and he slipped the ball into the far corner of the net.

As Rangers tried to throw forwards at their problem, Celtic kept on being presented with opportunities on the counter-attack. Sean Maloney, who normally plays his football in the club's youth team, made his debut as a substitute and it appeared as if the 17-year-old was so small that he could sneak undetected beneath Rangers' radar.

Put through in the 73rd minute, following an exchange of passes with Larsson, he shot hastily, when there was time for a further touch, and Stefan Klos, the goalkeeper, saved.

Maloney evidently has pluck and he was almost desperate to involve himself in moves. After 74 minutes, Rab Douglas, the Celtic goalkeeper cleared towards him and he glanced play to the left with a header.

Fernando Ricksen, the right-back, was not covering his area assiduously enough and Moravcik surprised the crowd, who thought his old legs should have been buckling at that stage, by turning across the defender to race into the penalty area and flip a finish past the advancing Klos at his near post.

The player had thus bagged two goals against Rangers, just as he did in his first Old Firm game in the autumn of 1998. It might sound like a pleasant way of marking the end of his days with Celtic, but although he has yet to decide whether to accept a new one-year contract, this performance could make him think that he would have an active role next season. Moravcik could also decide that life with this side is too good for him to turn his back on it.

With Celtic 2-0 in front, Larsson had already embellished his standing as the third most prolific creator of goals in Scotland this season, but Celtic's day had become too richly satisfying for his involvement to end there.

In the 86th minute, Jackie McNamara robbed Tugay, another substitute, and fed the forward. Larsson tacked round Klos and, from a narrow angle, steered the ball home with his left foot.

He did so directly in front of the stand holding Celtic supporters.

O'Neill will already be planning his reaction to Rangers' inevitable recovery, but he must also think that the greatest challenge of all will be keeping his club's followers as happy as they have been this season.

RANGERS (3-4-1-2): S Klos -C Moore, B Konterman (sub: Tugay, 64min), L Amoruso (sub: S Wilson, 72) -F Ricksen, B Ferguson, J Albertz, A Numan -R Wallace -W Dodds (sub: F Fernandes, 72), TA Flo. Substitutes not used: J Christiansen, S Wilson, P Leven. Booked: Ferguson, Moore, Ricksen.

CELTIC (3-5-2): R Douglas -J Mjallby, R Vega, J Valgaeren -D Agathe, N Lennon, P Lambert (sub: T Boyd, 88), L Moravcik (sub: J McNamara, 85), A Thompson -H Larsson, T Johnson (sub: S Maloney, 67). Substitutes not used: J Gould, C Healy. Booked: Lennon.