DEMBELE WON’T BE DENIED

Moussa’s deft touch breaks the resistance of Rangers

SECONDS after a deft finish sealed Celtic’s place in the Betfred Cup final, Moussa Dembele was lost in the moment. Hurling himself into a wave of joyous supporters in a corner of Hampden, the fear was he might never come out. For Rangers, that would have been the only upside of another grim day.

Last month, the 20-year-old scored the first league hat-trick by any player in an Old Firm derby for 50 years. He followed it with a backheel nutmeg of Ibrox goalkeeper Matt Gilks to settle the fate of this last-four clash three minutes from time.

With 14 goals in green and white — four against Rangers — Dembele’s capture from Fulham for £500,000 begins to look with every passing week like an act of grand larceny.

He eventually emerged from the massed ranks of the supporters to a booking from referee Craig Thomson. The match official had nothing to lose in the court of public opinion by flashing a yellow card. He had already incurred the wrath of the Parkhead fans by chalking off a legitimate goal for Erik Sviatchenko in 49 minutes. But nothing could spoil the moment when Celtic stretched their unbeaten domestic run to 11 games this season.

Eyes were already turning towards the prospect of another 30 minutes when Leigh Griffiths — a Celtic sub for the final half hour — slipped clear of Lee Wallace to skip into the 18-yard area. The Scotland striker fed a perfect ball into the centre for Dembele get ahead of Rob Kiernan and backflick the ball through the legs of Gilks.

The only regret for Celtic, driven onwards by captain Scott Brown, was the narrow margin of victory. The Sviatchenko ‘goal’ was a factor, Scott Sinclair struck the bar and Griffiths wasted a fine opening in the final seconds to double the lead. Yet a one-goal victory avenged last season’s semi-final defeat to Rangers in the Scottish Cup and secured a meeting with Aberdeen in the Betfred Cup final on November 27.

‘I’ve been made aware since I’ve been in here that the last game here, the 2-2 game, that Rangers were much the better team,’ said Rodgers (right).

‘Physically, and in every way, they were better. Technically they were better.

‘But the performance level today — as in the last Celtic v Rangers game — was a really top level.

‘They’re getting the reward and success for the hard work they’re putting in. But in order to rubberstamp that, you want to win trophies.

‘And in order to do that you need to get to the final. So, we’re there now and can put it to bed and concentrate on that in a number of weeks time.

‘It was a great performance worthy of getting to a final.’

Rangers can have few complaints. Mark Warburton spoke afterwards of the gap narrowing between these two teams and, compared to the 5-1 defeat, that’s undeniable.

Bristling at criticism of his tactical predictability, the Rangers boss moved James Tavernier forward to play in a more advanced role, while Lee Hodson came in at right-back. At 38, Clint Hill partnered Rob Kiernan in the absence of the injured Danny Wilson and it was natural to fear lack of pace might kill them. Yet Gilks, Kiernan and Hill defied all expectation. Gilks, in particular, was excellent. On his Old Firm debut there were nervous, comical moments. One catastrophic pass straight to the feet of Tom Rogic almost ended in abject embarrassment. Yet Gilks had a fine game in the end. On this evidence, Wes Foderingham has a fight on his hands. ‘Just look at his CV and look and where he has played in the Premier League and what he has achieved,’ said Warburton afterwards. ‘He is an outstanding goalkeeper.

‘What we had to do over the summer was to recruit someone of that quality to push Wes all the way. Matt’s frustration is that he can’t get in the team every week but I know I can throw him into any game at any time.’

The heroics began when Dembele sent Sinclair haring through on goal in the 15th minute. Gilks blocked with his left foot.

And yet, within six minutes the Rangers keeper almost undid his confidence-bolstering start in humiliating fashion.

A Jason Holt passback in his own 18-yard box appeared to catch the

former Scotland international unawares. His control was awful, the ball bobbling straight to the feet of an equally surprised Rogic. With a second more to steady himself, the Celtic midfielder would have lashed the ball into the net. Instead, it was scrambled awkwardly out for a corner.

With an instinctive goal-line block from Dembele seconds later, Gilks was back in credit. But Celtic were banging at the door.

Rangers appeared to have a strategy of holding firm for an hour, until Martyn Waghorn and Joe Garner appeared like blue-shirted cavalry. Yet an unfamiliar Celtic central defence, where Croatian Jozo Simunovic replaced Kolo Toure to some effect, strolled through the 90 minutes.

Beyond an unconvincing claim from Rangers for a penalty in 14 minutes, which saw Barrie McKay booked for simulation, Simunovic looked a player.

Celtic should have been ahead in 49 minutes through his partner-in-crime Sviatchenko.

Referee Thomson made a brave decision, ruling that the Dane had pushed Hill before heading home. Yet afterwards, former FIFA referee Howard Webb was clear on BT Sport that he would have given the goal. Most, in truth, would.

Sinclair and Rogic tested Gilks thereafter but, with almost half an hour to play, Rangers were in the game. They had a slugger’s chance.

One punch might be all it took to swing the game in a new direction. It nearly came in the 57th minute when the Ibrox side carved out their first effort on goal.

From a quick free-kick, Holt had the first clear chance, his net-bound effort blocked by the hulking figure of Simunovic. When it came down in a crowded area, McKay smashed a right foot shot which Craig Gordon took comfortably. That, to all intents, was it.

‘I felt Jason Holt’s chance was a big, big moment in the game,’ said Warburton.

‘The game opened up in the second half and our frustration was we went too long too often. But it’s an emotional game with a lot of people cramping up and everything that’s involved in an Old Firm game.

‘So maybe we weren’t brave enough in the second half and that’s a frustration to all of us. We did get into wide areas and got behind their full backs but maybe needed a bit more quality.’

Celtic cracked the woodwork in 67 minutes, a deft, curling free-kick from Sinclair kept out by a combination of Gilks’ fingertips and the crossbar.

Yet the introduction of Griffiths made the difference in the end.

There was grist for those who ask if the Scotland striker and Dembele might — just might — be able to combine in a two-man attack. They did so here to devastating effect.