Thursday, March 28, 2024

Celtic 1 Rangers 0: Ntcham inflicts Gerrard´s first Rangers defeat

SoccerNews in Scottish Premier League 2 Sep 2018

102 Views

Steven Gerrard suffered his first defeat as Rangers manager as Celtic ran out deserved 1-0 winners in the first Old Firm derby of the season.

The game pitted Gerrard against his former manager at Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers, but a first Scottish Premiership win for his side over their bitter rivals since 2012 rarely looked likely in a game the Bhoys dominated.

After striking the crossbar three times, the hosts finally got the breakthrough they deserved after 62 minutes as a flowing counter-attack saw James Forrest send a cool pass across goal for Olivier Ntcham to deliver the decisive blow.

Rangers should have been reduced to 10 men in the 25th minute, but the officials failed to spot Allan McGregor’s petulant kick at Kristoffer Ajer off the ball.

Moments later, Celtic hit the crossbar twice in the space of a manic minute. First, Forrest saw a deflected half-volley from 30 yards clip the top of the woodwork and from the resulting corner Mikael Lustig headed against the frame of the goal from close range.

McGregor then took full advantage of his reprieve to paw away Odsonne Edouard’s back-post header as the visitors withstood intense pressure to somehow go into the break level.

Celtic picked up where they left off after the interval as they hit the crossbar for a third time, Ntcham’s low drive from distance diverted onto the woodwork by McGregor’s strong hand.

McGregor stood no chance with the Frenchman’s goal, while Leigh Griffiths clipped the outside of the post late on as Celtic move within three points of early league leaders Hearts.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SoccerNews

Soccernews.com is news blog for soccer with comprehensive coverage of all the major leagues in Europe, as well as MLS in the United States. In addition we offer breaking news for transfers and transfer rumors, ticket sales, betting tips and offers, match previews, and in-depth editorials.

You can follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/soccernews.com or Twitter: @soccernewsfeed.

SHARE OR COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

WE RECOMMEND

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This field is required *

Join the conversation!

or Register

More More
Top