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CELTS TAKE THE SPOILS IN OLD FIRM FINAL

Celtic2 Rangers 0 (AET)
Cooperative Insurance Cup

At the start of the year, Darren O'Dea was on the verge of heading down south in his quest for regular football with championship side, Burnley .

But Gordon Strachan blocked the move - and how that decision reaped dividend as the young Irish international finally broke the deadlock in the first Old Firm Cup final, in almost two decades.

Even though the Ibrox side had the edge of their nearest rivals in terms of finals won, it was the men in hoops that came away with the spoils courtesy of a Murdo McLeod strike.

And following a series of poor performances from both sides during recent encounters, it was hoped that the two Glasgow Football Giants would deliver the feast of football that such a show piece final, deserved.

Unfortunately after a poor 90 minutes, the game was rescued – to a certain extent during extra time, a text book free kick during the opening two minutes from Shunsuke Nakamura, saw O'Dea lose his marker to head home the opener.

From that point there was only going to be one winner. As Celtic dominated the battle in the middle of the park with a deserved man of the match performance from Scott Brown.

And in the dying minutes of extra time, the hoops drove home final nail in Rangers coffin when Kirk Broadfoot brought down Aiden McGeady inside the box, resulting in a straight red card, leaving the Celtic winger to drive home a second from the spot.

Celtic, desperate to shake off the embarrassment of their recent Scottish cup exit, decided to play safe benching shot shy strikers, Jan Vennegoor of Hesslink and Georgio Samaras, relying on Aussie Express Scot McDonald up front.

Walter Smith was forced to make one change from the side that roasted Hamilton in the Scottish cup, with Kirk Broadfoot coming in for Madrig Bougherra, with Kris Boyd not surprisingly on the bench in favor of Kyle Lafferty

Rangers started the more positive during the early stages of the match.

However things appeared to be heading for a repeat of their last league encounter with little incident in front of goal, with the first real chance coming in 26 minutes after Scott Brown unleashed a 20 yard drive which dipped over Alan McGregor but over the bar.

That chance seemed to give Celtic the impetus that they needed and started to exert some pressure on the Rangers penalty area.

In 29 minutes, Glen Loovens came close when he got on to the end of a Nakamura free kick, sending the ball past the opposite post.

Celtic were soon n the attack again, when McGeady at speed, down the near side, squared it to Brown, but failed to finish the move off sending the ball flying over the bar.

Throughout the half, the fans were still looking for a their first clear shot on target and two minutes from time, Rangers almost delivered the goods, when a first class ball from Broadfoot, found Lafferty on the far corner of the penalty area.

The striker cushioned the ball on his chest and delivered a spectacular volley which was met with an equally spectacular save from Artur Boruc.

Rangers once again started the second half sharply, determined to try and take control of the match and came close in 50 minutes when Steve Davis tried his luck from the edge of the box, only to see the ball creep past the post.

Things then started to move back in Celtic's favor when a Nakamura free kick just outside the box came of the hand of McGregor for the corner.

Celtic should have gone ahead in 70 mins when Loovens flicked a corner kick towards goal but was denied courtesy of a clearance off the line from Pedro Mendes.

The introduction of Nacho Novo appeared to provide some added bite to the Rangers attack, but still could not put any real pressure inside the Celtic penalty box.

And there was no sign of a miracle finish with the introduction of goal machine Kris Boyd.

By then Rangers were running out of options and it looked that even though there was 30 minutes to go, the signs were there that this match was heading for a penalty shoot out.

But the Ibrox side looked to have the stuffing knocked out of them 90 seconds into extra time, when O Dea, headed home from close range and finally open the scoring.

Celtic then squandered a number of opportunities to increase their lead, mainly due to some sloppy play from substitute Georgio Samaras and who fell in a crumpled heap at the end of the regulation 30 mins from what appeared to be an ankle injury and was replaced by Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink – much to the annoyance of the Celtic Boss.

But Strachan had plenty to smile about in injury time, when McGeady sped down field toward goal, but was brought down in the box by Broadfoot, resulting in a straight red card.

And after his hard work, no one begrudged the Celtic Winger the final shot at glory and duly delivered, firing it past McGregor and kicking off the celebrations amongst the Celtic fans