THERE is no such thing as a meaningless Old Firm match. Everybody knows that. But what else did we learn as Rangers completed their first Ibrox clean sweep in this fixture since the 2011-12 campaign?
THIS MATCH TOLD US LITTLE ABOUT NEXT SEASON
While the sense of gathering momentum around the club under Steven Gerrard is unmistakeable, it doesn’t automatically follow that yesterday’s result landed the first blow in the battle for the 2019-20 title. In truth, both these teams will look significantly different by the time these sides embark upon the quest to secure, or alternatively stop nine in a row. Will Ryan Kent still be a Rangers player? Will Alfredo Morelos? Who knows, but Jake Hastie and Jordan Jones will. Likewise, whether Neil Lennon remains as Celtic manager or not, the Northern Irishman has a squad which requires a serious overhaul. Loan signings like Oliver Burke, Filip Benkovic and Jeremy Toljan will move on, and more established members of their squad such as Tom Rogic could be in demand this summer. As he looked to it for inspiration late on, Neil Lennon’s bench must have looked surprisingly bare. Winning the summer transfer window will be more important than getting the bragging rights in the last Old Firm match of the campaign.
…. BUT PLENTY ABOUT THIS SEASON
Just maybe those fans jubilantly striding out of Ibrox yesterday might have pause to think how close they came to actually winning this title. For once, it certainly wasn’t results against Celtic that proved their undoing this campaign - rather the points frittered away against the likes of Aberdeen, Hibs and Kilmarnock – and even Dundee. There are no guarantees at all that Celtic will be more vulnerable next season than they were this term.
One other side note is the changing nature of the Old Firm match. With only a small pocket of away fans in either ground, it doesn’t seem a co-incidence that the home teams have won all four of this season’s Glasgow grudge matches, as the one-sided nature of the atmospheres seems to have been translated into the matches themselves. It might lessen the occasion for the neutral, but that alone validates Rangers’ decision to alter the allocations.
YOU CAN’T HIDE MOTIVATION, OR LACK OF IT
Both of these teams wanted to win yesterday, even if neither of them needed to. But, playing for the last time in front of their own fans, it was arguable that there was slightly more of an imperative on the visitors to go out and get the win yesterday. It certainly seemed that way.
Roaring out of the traps, with Ryan Kent’s closing down leading to James Tavernier’s free kick which gave them an early lead, for the second home Old Firm match Rangers won their individual battles and picked up most of the second balls going. It said it all that it took until the 84th minute for the Premiership champions to fashion a shot on target.
CELTIC HAVE INJURY ISSUES AHEAD OF THE CUP FINAL
There was no sighting yesterday of James Forrest due to a calf strain, although Neil Lennon is hopeful he will have made a full recovery by the time Hampden ticks round in a fortnight’s time. Kieran Tierney, who pulled up halfway through his side’s last match, against Aberdeen, wasn’t fit to play yesterday either as he nurses his nagging groin injury. And now Mikael Lustig joined that list, when he pulled up with a hamstring strain during the second half yesterday. These are issues which the Northern Irishman could do without with the club’s quest for a triple treble on the line. Assuming any of the three are fit to start at the national stadium at Hearts, how many can he risk at one time?
JON FLANAGAN WAS LUCKY TO STAY ON THE PITCH
Kevin Clancy, an Old Firm virgin at referee, must have been hoping to get through this Glasgow derby debut controversy free. It was entirely predictable that he didn’t manage it. He opted for a yellow card when Jon Flanagan caught Scott Brown with a forearm as he prepared to mark him from a corner. While TV evidence wasn’t entirely conclusive about how much contact there was, it certainly showed Flanagan looking at the midfielder before fending him off. Whether Brown’s involvement – the midfielder was also the focal point for much controversy during the previous Old Firm match – worked against him, not all referees might have seen it the same way. No penalty was awarded as the ball wasn’t deemed to be in play at the time.
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