The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Olivier Ntcham fires in Celtic’s winner in the 1-0 victory over Rangers in yesterday’s Ladbrokes Premiership game at Celtic Park.
Gers boss frustrated over ‘blatant foul’ as Hoops win Old Firm clash to extend Rodgers’ unbeaten run to 13 games
CELTIC 1 RANGERS 0
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard claimed referee Willie Collum wrongly ignored the advice of fourth official John Beaton before Celtic broke to score their winner in a feisty Ladbrokes Premiership derby at Parkhead yesterday.
In the 62nd minute, Hoops midfielder Tom Rogic tangled with Ryan Jack, leaving the Light Blues player prostrate, before racing up the park where midfielder Olivier Ntcham finished off the move for the 1-0 win.
It was Gerrard’s first defeat as Rangers boss in his 13th game while Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers extended his unbeaten run against the Ibrox men to 12 games since he took over in 2016.
Gerrard, who expects to sign Northern Ireland defender Gareth McAuley, 38, when he returns from international duty, said: “For me it is a foul and it is also a foul for the fourth official. He is shouting down his microphone, ‘foul, foul, foul’.
“The referee in the middle has ignored that advice but for me it is a blatant foul. He has swept his legs.
“Jacko has done well to get himself between the man and the ball and for me it is a clear foul.”
The former Liverpool and England captain, who worked under Rodgers at Liverpool, admitted Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor was fortunate not to be punished for flicking a leg at Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer in the first half.
He said: “I think he has lashed out. Of course I will speak to him. I am honest. I will tell you what I see. If something is blatant it is blatant.”
Rodgers praised his side for their performance which less than 48 hours after the £19.7 million transfer of striker Moussa Dembele to Lyon.
He said: “I thought we performed exceptionally. Allan McGregor has made some outstanding saves, we hit the crossbar, it probably kept the scoreline down a little bit. It was an outstanding win for us and equally a very good performance and I am delighted.”
Gerrard insists he seen enough from his side to give him encouragement.
He said: “We played against a team who have been together for two years – and even prior to that – and they have a lot more experience than this group of players.
“They know how to win, we know they are a good team but I see enough today to feel if we can get bodies back and new signings up to speed, I believe we can be a match for Celtic certainly in the next fixture.”
Dembele’s fellow French striker Odsonne Edouard returned to the Hoops line-up along with James Forrest and Tom Rogic, while it was nearly all change for the visitors since their last visit to Celtic Park, with skipper James Tavernier the only survivor.
Connor Goldson, Ovie Ejaria, Ryan Kent, Nikola Katic, Borna Barisic and Scott Arfield were playing for the first time in the fixture.
With only around 800 Rangers fans inside the 60,000-capacity stadium, a vastly-reduced away ticket allocation due to a tit-for-tat ticket row, there was a different dynamic to the atmosphere.
Hoops voices boomed down from the stands as Celtic took early control of the ball and refused to let go.
Celtic skipper Scott Brown picked up an early booking from ref Collum for a foul on Kyle Lafferty and there was some controversy in the 25th minute when McGregor, after punching clear a Callum McGregor free-kick, appeared to kick out at Ajer who fell to the ground but play carried on.
McGregor then pushed a Ntcham free-kick past his near post for a corner which came to nothing.
Forrest smacked the bar in the 33rd minute with a deflected 30-yard drive and from the resultant corner Lustig’s header from a Dedryck Boyata flick-on also hit the bar with Rangers scrambling to clear their lines.
Collum was having a busy time, booking Edouard for foul on Ryan Jack before the French forward missed a great chance from Callum McGregor’s cross, heading straight at Allan McGregor who clawed the ball away for another corner which proved fruitless.
The home side started the second half as tenaciously as they had finished the first and in the 50th minute McGregor tipped a powerful long-range drive from Ntcham on to the bar before Celtic’s McGregor gave away a foul in his attempt to get to the rebound.
The corner count mounted for Rodgers’ men and the goal felt inevitable, although it came on a break in the 62nd minute driven by Rogic.
The Australian played in Edouard and his pass to Forrest was cut across for Ntcham, with the French playmaker knocking the ball into the net from 12 yards.
Griffiths replaced Edouard minutes later and his corner was met by Lustig who skimmed a header past the far post.
Rangers had to come out of their defensive shell and in a rare foray Alfredo Morelos’ angled drive was saved by Hoops goalkeeper Craig Gordon for a corner which was defended, before Lafferty headed a Tavernier cross past the far post.
Griffiths skimmed the outside of the post with a long-range effort and at the other end Tavernier flashed a shot wide.