Victory at Ibrox propelled Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic towards title glory

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The Celtic Star

·3 de abril de 2025

Victory at Ibrox propelled Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic towards title glory

Three years ago today we went to Ibrox and won on our way to reclaiming the title and shutting up Hugh Keevins in the process…

Dejection for theRangers. IMAGO / Shutterstock Photo by Luke Nickerson/

Three years ago today we went to Ibrox with the title firmly on the line and more than proved our credentials.

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You will recall that theRangers were champions after romping to their first ever Scottish Premiership title the previous season due to a combination of the capitulation of a poor Celtic side, and the effects of the COVID pandemic.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou had his eye on the title

Celtic were under the leadership of Ange Postecoglou, who had us playing a terrific brand of attacking football whilst also showing we still had that fighting spirit when it came to competing for honours.

CCV celebrates scoring the winner at Ibrox. Photo IMAGO

Only three points separated the sides going into the game, and with only six fixtures remaining a win for Celtic would put them firmly in the driving seat, whilst a win for the home side would they believed swing the pendulum back in their direction.

Aaron Ramsay scored in the opening minutes

It had all the ingredients to be a cracker, and it started disastrously from our point of view when the greatest signing in the history of Scottish football Aaron Ramsay scored in the opening minutes to fire theRangers into the lead.

The momentum was now with the home side as the majority of the crowd indulged in their sectarian song book as they believed a comfortable victory was the only outcome. Our auld chum Hugh Keevins on Clyde 1 even enthusiastically suggested that an impressive victory for the home side and a heavy defeat for Celtic was on the cards.

A sort of role reversal of the previous meeting between the sides at Celtic Park two months previously under the lights at Celtic Park when Celtic won 3-0 to move to the top of the table for the first time under Ange Postecoglou.

Cameron Carter-Vickers IMAGO / ShutterstockPhoto by Luke Nickerson/

That prompted a new Celtic song borrowed from the wonderful Carpenters…’We’re on the top of the world looking down on theRangers it’s the only explanation I can find. It’s the form we have found since Ange has been around that’s put us on the top of the league.’ It was first heard up at Pittodrie.Things went spectacularly Pete Tong for Hugh Keevins

But like all the loud mouth hacks predictions, things went spectacularly Pete Tong for Hugh Keevins and more importantly theRangers. Glasgow Derby specialist Tom Rogic levelled the game to silence the home crowd and a certain reporter watching on.

Tom Rogic celebrates. Photo IMAGO

Celtic took control soon after as the home side showed their inability to handle pressure in front of a baying crowd, this wasn’t pandemic football any more, and Celtic took full advantage by going into the lead minutes before the break curtesy of Cameron Carter Vickers who fired the ball home after a ‘stramash’ in the penalty area.

A broken bottle was thrown into the Celtic goalmouth

Despite a small delay to the start of the second half after a supporter of theRangers threw the contents of a broken bottle into the Celtic goalmouth, it was the home sides bottle that crashed as Celtic held their nerve in the following 45 plus minutes to register a vital win as we earned a six point lead at the top of the table.

It would prove significant in the end up as we won back our title just over a month later. We were Champions once again, and we shut a few folk up in the process. And their long wait for title number two continues to this day.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

3 years ago today we went to Ibrox with the title on the line. We prevailed and won 2-1 to go 6 points clear, despite the greatest signing in Scottish football history firing the home side into an early lead. That win proved significant as we would go on to win the title.
– jueves, 3 de abril de 2025

Here’s how David Potter reacted to this match in his post match thoughts, three years ago today, that were always a great feature on The Celtic Star…

Glasgow Derby joy as Celtic triumph at Ibrox to go six points clear

Continued on the next page…

David Potter’s post-match thoughts

Scottish Premiership, theRangers 1-2 Celtic – Ibrox stadium, 3 April 2022

A fine performance from Celtic, playing a game that is alien to us for most of the game. Full marks to Ange for his tactics which were absolutely spot-on, especially his substitutions which showed a great deal of common sense and understanding of the way that they game was going. It wasn’t a spectacular win, but then again it was never likely to be. But it was a win, and Celtic are that bit closer to the League title. Full marks to the players for resisting the opening barrage and fighting back!

IMAGO / Shutterstock Photo by Luke Nickerson

Not that I wish to rain on anyone’s parade, but it is important to keep the lid on this. There are six League games – St Johnstone, Rangers, Hearts and, at a guess, Dundee United, Hibs and Motherwell. These can be difficult fixtures, and we have to win four of them. League titles have been thrown away from winning positions like this before – remember 1980, 1983 and 2011! Take one game at a time, and no nonsense.

My man of the match was Callum McGregor

My man of the match was Callum McGregor. Once again, he was all over the place, defence, midfield and even up front, but the central defenders were also of a different class, showing above all else courage and not being afraid to get in the way of the ball when it was necessary.

IMAGO / Shutterstock Photo by Luke Nickerson

Abada had two good chances to kill the game

Full backs were also good, with Juranovic recovering well from his first nightmarish five minutes. Neither of our goals were classics, but they were brought about by hard work and the ability to be in the right place when required. Giakoumakis and Maeda will have better games, but as the pundits kept saying, their work rate was excellent and in that respect, they gave theRangers defence enough to do. Abada had two good chances to kill the game.

The second was perhaps a good save, but there was no excuse for the first one. Oh, and please, Ange, remind Joe Hart that he is allowed to pick the ball up! He doesn’t need to get himself into trouble the way that he did.

And now to the three people that we don’t seem to like very much. Willie Collum, I thought, handled the game well, not making a rod for his own back by early yellow cards. He also did not award penalties, and although he may have got the odd minor decision wrong, he was spot on with the big ones.

Ally McCoist was also fair in his assessment of the game, and Kris Boyd was dignified in defeat and had the grace to give Celtic some praise. Ally and Kris are totally insufferable when they win, but when they lose… they are probably pretty decent human beings.

IMAGO / Shutterstock Photo by Luke Nickerson

The cretin who threw the broken glass on to the pitch

But the cretin who threw the broken glass on to the pitch at the start of the second half is anything but a decent human being! Anyone with half a brain can surely see that broken glass is just as dangerous to theRangers players as well as Celtic ones! Did no-one behind that goal point him out? And why was the area behind that goal not immediately festooned with policemen? That game went on TV all round the world, and here we have Glasgow at its worst again!

So, enjoy it folks, particularly our gallant 700 including Lubo98 who was there reporting for The Celtic Star! St Johnstone at Parkhead on Saturday. Do not underestimate them!

David Potter