Rangers v Celtic

In a bruising encounter Celtic were left counting the cost of missed chances as they were edged out of the CIS cup in extra time by Rangers.

In the first minute of the game Numan made a nervous looking passback which was intercepted by Hartson who went round the keeper and sent an angled drive goalward. Amoruso saved Rangers as he slid in and knocked the ball out for a corner.

Balde did well to block a shot from Arveladze as he moved in down the right. From the resulting corner Caniggia had a free header and it was easily held by Douglas.

A minute later Thomson picked out Larsson leaving him one on one with the keeper. His shot was not good enough, Klos saved and the best chance of the match went abegging.

Petrov had a great strike from a corner which was saved by the legs of Klos and the rebound was returned but eventually cleared by the Rangers defence. A minute later a Larsson free kick hit the outside of the post.

Lovenkrands had a half chance for Rangers but swung wildly at the ball with his right foot to no effect.

On the 20 minute mark Agathe was fouled wide on the right near the corner flag. Hartson got his head to the cross under pressure from defenders but headed wide.

The next serious attempt at goal was by Ricksen who shot across goal but saw the ball go just wide.

Celtic were still the busier team going forward and a nice flick by Larsson to Thomson led to a dangerous cross ball that hit off Balde then was cleared. On 39 minutes Didier Agathe made a superb run past 4 Rangers players and delivered a perfect ball for the head of Larsson who unfortunately headed wide.

Rangers threatened with Arveladze getting in beyond the defence but Douglas did well to save at his feet.

Man in the news Bobo Balde, rashly conceded a free-kick by barging into de Boer. It looked as though the free kick had been wasted but it spun up in the air and forward into the box. Mjallby attempted to muscle in in front of Lovenkrands when the better option looked to be sticking a leg out to knock the ball into touch. Lovenkrands got there first and his angled shot beat Douglas to give Rangers the lead.

Tempers began to fray in the second half and Lennon and Ferguson were booked after a spat. Arveladze soon followed after he lunged at Agathe. Agathe made another great run and played Larsson in, but Ricksen was quickly on the scene to prevent the Swede from shooting on target.

A collision between Larsson, Moore and Klos led to the big Australian being stretchered off and replaced by Vidmar. At the same time Celtic introduced Sutton to replace Hartson.

Sutton quickly made an impact, heading on a free kick into a dangerous area but Vidmar was alert to the danger and dived to head the ball for a corner.

Another booking followed in 71 minutes as Konterman fouled Agathe. Celtic brought on Moravcik for Lambert.

On 73 minutes Celtic won a corner on the right. The ball bobbled about, was touched by Balde then Mjallby and Balde managed to get his foot to the ball to knock it home from a prone position. Klos was booked for protesting that he had been fouled.

Rangers were much the livelier team in the first period of extra time. The loss of Lambert in midfield meant that Rangers had a lot of the ball and Caniggia's dangerous ball was luckily missed by everyone. Balde was then booked for a dangerous tackle on Flo where he went in head first and struck the man. In 10 minutes Balde deflected a Ferguson shot for a corner. A minute later Numan hit the side net. The goal seemed to be coming and when a loose ball fell to Konterman in the 14th minute he cracked a screamer into the net giving Douglas no chance.

In the second period Celtic came into it again with a Thomson effort from an assist by Sutton being saved by Klos. Rangers reply was a great chance for Arveladze who made it easy for Douglas to save.

Moravcik had the best chance for an equaliser when he moved into the box and shot but Klos palmed it away. Sutton tried his best with a run and shot but time was against Celtic and it was Rangers night.

Agathe was superb especially considering his recent injury and is my man of the match.

Just a word about Balde. He was involved in many of the important incidents of the game. He conceded the foul that led to Rangers first goal and gave away a penalty as well as scoring for Celtic. He also made some crucial saving blocks. However his reckless challenges are going to prove costly for us and if he cannot correct this part of his game he should be moved on.

CELTIC (3-5-2): Douglas; Mjallby, Balde, Valgaeren; Agathe, Lennon, Lambert (Moravcik 72), Petrov (Petta 105), Thompson; Hartson (Sutton 65), Larsson.
Subs: Gould, Crainey.

RANGERS (3-5-2): Klos; Moore (Vidmar 65), Amoruso, Numan; Ricksen, Konterman, Ferguson, De Boer (Flo 51), Lovenkrands; Cannigia, Arveladze (Hughes 117).
Subs: McGregor, McCann.