Not since Lisbon Lion Stevie Chalmers scored three goals in a 5-1 win over Rangers in 1966 has a Celtic player notched a hat-trick in a home league game against the Ibrox men.
McDonald's first-half double, which was cancelled out by goals from Da
vid Weir and Daniel Cousin, gave him plenty of time to replicate that feat.
However, the Australia internationalist passed up a great chance to grab his third after the break when, despite being through on goal, he squared the ball to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink who was dispossessed by Ibrox defender Kirk Broadfoot.
The 24-year-old also stepped aside to let midfielder Barry Robson take the decisive penalty after the former Motherwell striker had been bundled to the ground by Broadfoot.
McDonald, who took his tally for the season to 29, was glad to get his first Old Firm goal after missing a penalty in the 2-1 win over Rangers less than a fortnight ago. But he claimed the match ball was just out of his reach. He said: "I guess you could say it was great to get that monkey off my back, especially after missing a penalty against them in the last game.
"But in the case of the penalty, Barry had said before the game, 'I'm taking them', and that was that. I was thinking about the hat-trick but he was proved right.
"But the boys gave me some stick about the pass I gave to Jan. It's one of those situations where, if you shoot and miss, then people say, 'why didn't you cut it back'?
"I saw Jan all by himself and I don't know which Rangers player got back to take it off him but he did well. It was just unfortunate that we didn't take advantage of that." Victory took Celtic five points clear of Rangers at the top of the table although Walter Smith's side have three games in hand.
McDonald, who, as a Fir Park player, famously scored a double against Celtic on the last day of the season three years ago to hand Rangers the title, is desperate to make amends and help his new club win the title.
He said: "Winning the title would mean the world to me. When I missed the penalty against Rangers last week, people might have said, 'here we go again'.
"So from my point of view it was pleasing to set up the winner in that game and then to score yesterday."
Rangers defender David Weir tried to allay any fears following the Light Blues' defeat by stressing that the destiny of the SPL title is still in their hands.
Weir, who is doubtful for the second leg of the UEFA Cup semi-final against Fiorentina in Florence on Thursday after picking up a groin injury, said: "We would have been delighted to win the game as well but we didn't, so we'll move on. The important thing is our destiny is still in our hands. We've got six league games left and we know we're still in control but we need to put some performances in. There are a lot of disappointed boys in the dressing room but we will respond to this in the right way. We have a lot of strong characters and time will tell if we have enough."
Television replays indicated McDonald was offside before he scored the early opener for the home side but Weir refused to put too much emphasis on the decision. He said: "I felt the player was off but I haven't seen the incident on television so I'm not sure what the situation is. But these things happen and not every decision is going to go your way."
The Ibrox side must now try and overcome Fiorentina on Thursday following their goalless draw at Ibrox last week. And the former Hearts and Everton defender is hoping to declare himself fit for the trip to Italy. He said: "It's a groin injury. I felt it go midway through the first half and tried to play on but I couldn't in the end. I'll do my best to be fit because I want to play in midweek."
The full article contains 750 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
