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Celtic welcomed Rangers to Porterstown Park for their return fixture after Celtic had taken the points in Bushy Park. Rangers proved to be very plucky indeed and they matched Celtic all the way. Their big No. 9 was a real handful and Celtic had to be at their most competitive to keep him contained. The sides were level at half time despite efforts from Traian Rebeggea and Olti Berusha going close, while Kacem Touihri was covering every blade of grass to support Celtic’s effort.
The second half was much the same as before with Celtic’s attacks being snuffed out by the Rangers’ midfield and defence who were battling for every ball. Luca Ursache came into the Celtic defence and was putting in a powerful shift. Robert Best continued to put in crunching tackles and was breaking forward at every opportunity in an effort to get the vital goal. Bogdan Rusu did his part in the middle of the park to nullify any Rangers’ danger. The visitors were menacing however in attack, and it was from one such attack that they won a penalty that was a bit harsh. They coolly took the lead with a precise conversion. This rocked the home side who hadn’t been beaten all season, and with 10 minutes remaining, at 1-0 down, they were looking down the barrel.
Celtic stuck to their task and continued to try to unlock the Rangers’ defence, including some tricky footwork from Callum Lynch. It was only with 7 minutes remaining that they made their breakthrough. Francis Uy seized on the ball in the middle of the park, he skinned the Rangers’ defender before unleashing his trademark shot into the roof of the net. The celebrations by the home side vividly reflected their relief at avoiding defeat and keeping intact their unbeaten record this season. They were now pressing forward for victory, and Gavin Cameron was unlucky when his shot whizzed past the right angle of bar and post.
Only a brave stop by John Pereira, for the second time in the game, thwarted Rangers late on when they looked like they would regain their lead.
After a fabulous effort this afternoon and their many great performances this season which sees them at the top of the league table as the Yuletide break approaches, Stephen Best’s team were off to Captain America’s for their well-earned Christmas celebration.
