CELTIC laid a 20-year-old hoodoo to rest yesterday as they won an Old Firm final at Hampden for the first time since 1989 with a 2-0 extra-time victory which saw them deservedly take possession of the Co-operative Insurance Cup for the 14th time in their history.
Click here to view imagesAfter a goalless and largely lifeless 90 minutes, Gordon Strachan's team scored in the first and last minutes of the additional period.
Darren O'Dea headed them in front before Aiden McGeady ensured the first silverware of the season would go to Celtic Park when he converted a penalty kick he had earned when fouled by Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot who was shown a straight red card. It is the first time Celtic have eclipsed their great rivals in a showpiece fixture at the National Stadium since their 1-0 triumph in the 1989 Scottish Cup final and the first time they have won a League Cup final against Rangers since winning 2-1 in the 1982-83 season.
When McGeady finally put the result beyond doubt, it prompted an exultant reaction from Strachan who has now won six major trophies in his four seasons in charge of Celtic.
His team bounced back from their shock Scottish Cup quarter-final exit at St Mirren the previous week and will now turn their attentions to the pursuit of a fourth successive SPL title victory.
They currently lead Rangers by three points at the top of the table with 10 games remaining and it remains to be seen how much of a psychological blow they inflicted on the Ibrox club yesterday.
"Today just showed us how hard it is going to be in the rest of the season," said Strachan. "It tells us how determined Rangers are. I don't know what effect today will have, if any, but I do know it is going to be a close call if both teams show the determination they did today, which I'm sure they will. A lot of people would have backed the game to go to extra-time today and from where I was standing it was an exciting game. I thought we had some really good performances from our players and they can all be pleased."
Walter Smith's team had hoped to take the first step towards a potential domestic treble of trophies, but the Rangers manager now faces a major challenge to try and reclaim the momentum from Celtic in the closing weeks of the campaign.
"We will have to get the players back up and ready for the championship," said a disappointed but typically philosophical Smith. "Of course we can bounce back from this.
"It was a tight affair, which I think everyone expected it to be. Both sets of defenders and midfielders worked hard to close the other side down. It always looked like a set piece might lead to the first goal and unfortunately for us Celtic got it. I can't have any complaints about my team."
Smith suffered a blow on the eve of the final when Madjid Bougherra failed a fitness test on the calf injury which forced him to limp out of Rangers' Scottish Cup quarter-final win over Hamilton Accies at Ibrox seven days earlier, but he refused to identify the Algerian defender's absence as a factor in his team losing their grip on the trophy.
"That wasn't the reason we lost today," said Smith. "I thought Kirk Broadfoot did well in central defence, so I wouldn't regard that as having any influence on the result."
In addition to the dismissal of Broadfoot, referee Dougie McDonald booked seven players in a match which was untidy but intensely competitive on a relaid Hampden pitch which still appeared to cause difficulties for both teams.
It was Celtic who generally handled it more effectively, however, and looked the more threatening side for much of the afternoon. Scott Brown was named Man of the Match by the sponsors and enhanced his candidacy for Scottish football's Player of the Year awards in which votes will start to be cast in the next few weeks.
