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Live - Scottish Premier League



SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE RESULT

Celtic 2-4 Rangers

GOALFLASHES AND MAJOR INCIDENTS (all times BST)

606: DEBATE
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By David Sharp

1435: That's all folks! I'm out of here. At times I felt like I was in the eye of a hurricane. Except it was anything but calm. Rangers soar back to the top of the SPL table. They trounced their Glasgow rivals with a thrilling second half performance. The manner and margin of defeat will certainly be a sore one for Celtic fans to take...

1430: "Absolutely fantastic, I know I said it would be unpredictable at half time and what a finish from Miller in the second half! Fantastic performance all around!" flippin-eck on My Sport
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1428: "Hmmm. Gordon you've got 36 hours to get some seriously needed improvements made to the team. Better get cracking!!!!!!!!!!"jakieHAMsolo on My Sport
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1426: "Pedro Mendes is my Sportsound man of the match."
BBC Scotland pundit Billy Dodds

Hard to argue with Billy there. Mendes played with great poise and swagger after a fairly anonymous first half. And he scored an absolute belter of a goal. The Portugese was ably supported by Davis and Thomson as Rangers bossed the midfield. Is he your star performer too? Vote in our Player Rater here:

1424: I'm dumbstruck by the final half hour of that pulsating match. Flabbergasted. Gobstoppered. My singed fingers have been rendered mute. I'm a quivering wreck. How are you all faring after 90 minutes of harem scarem lunacy? Join the debate on My Sport

1422: FULL-TIME Celtic 2-4 Rangers

1420: GOAL Celtic 2-4 Rangers A late consolation goal from Shunsuke Nakamura. One of his trademark direct free-kicks scuds off Davis' noggin in the Rangers wall and wrong-foots McGregor.

1418: Nippy Novo's pace opens up a jaded looking Celtic defence and the Spaniard slides a neat ball sideways to Miller. The striker slams the ball at Boruc who bats it away for a corner.

1416: "Mendez is outstanding and has been since his arrival . Barry Ferguson should not be allowed to just walk back into the team once he is fit." Chris Mayhead via email.

1414: "Listening in Vietnam, and overjoyed!!! Come on the Gers!! Well done Wattie!! JamesdcHCMC on My Sport
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Gooooooooooood Morniiiiiiiiiiing Vieeeeetnaaaaaaaam!!!

1413: "Mendes has been magnificent."
BBC Scotland pundit Murdo MacLeod

1411: This is the first time Rangers have scored four goals at Celtic Park since 1894. But those Victorian boys were playing with a pig's head caked in mud, strips made from tattie sacks and tackety boots with actual nails for studs. Ooops, apparently Rangers scored four goals at Parkhead in 1994 not 1894.

I must've misheard the year on the commentary! Thanks to my colleague Colin for texting that correction in from his holiday retreat in France. Or Partick, I'm not sure. Rangers beat Celtic 4-2 at Celtic Park on New Years Day 1994.

1410: "We've gone from a sublime goal from Mendes to an incredible error from Artur Boruc."
BBC Scotland commentator David Begg

1409: Make that four minutes of madness Beggy!

1408: GOAL Celtic 1-4 Rangers An absolute howler from Boruc. The Polish keeper spills Broadfoot's cross inside his six-yard box and Kenny Miller taps the ball into an empty net. This is un-beee-lievable! The ball slipped through Boruc's paws like a new-born baby lathered in butter.

1406: "It's been three minutes of madness here in the east end of Glasgow."
BBC Sportsound commentator David Begg

1405: ANOTHER SENDING OFF This time it's Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink who slopes off for an early bath. A rush of blood to the head after he kicks out at Broadfoot. That was mental. The big Dutchman has barely been on the pitch. He aimed a donkey hoof at the Rangers defender with the ball nowhere in sight.

1404: SENDING OFF For the third time in his Rangers career, Daniel Cousin gets his marching orders. He led with his elbow in an aerial tussle with Caldwell. Oh dear, Cousin lets himself and his team-mates down again. His elbow was up, but he appeared to be using it to give himself leverage. I'm not sure there was anything intentional or malicious in that. But his reputation precedes him...

1402: "Celtic have been rattled by a more confident Rangers side." Gary Mc (Wales) via text on 81111

1400: Celtic make the aforementioned double substitution.

1359: "Watching live text from honeymoon in Maldives......wish I was there sounds a cracker...C'mon Mendes etc etc" craig in exotic climes via text

Nice one Craig! Does your new wife know what you're up to? Hope you've sent her off for some expensive spa treatment while you keep tabs on the footy on the sly.

1357: McGregor punches Nakamura's floating free-kick clear of danger.

1356: "It's a double change for Celtic - Robson and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink are coming into the fray."
BBC Scotland reporter Chick Young

1354: "Celtic are going to make a change. Barry Robson is about to come on."
BBC Scotland commentator David Begg

1352: Classic commentator's timing from David Begg there! (see 1350)

1351: GOAL Celtic 1-3 Rangers. What a goal! Pedro Mendes sends a fizzing shot from 25-yards which hurtles low past Boruc. That was one of those Bobby Charlton-style old-school strikes which uniformly accelerates towards the goal at a terrific velocity. The fiery comet was bulging in the back of the net before Boruc saw it. Hotshot Hamish would've been proud of that one.

1350: "Mendes is having a quiet game."
BBC Scotland commentator David Begg

1349: "Charlie Adam has to come off. The guy has the backside of Kenny Dalglish and the football talent of Kelly Dalglish." memnoch666 on My Sport
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1347: "Celtic Park is stunned as the Rangers fans celebrate."
BBC Scotland commentator David Begg

1344: Nakamura winds his left leg up for another one of those cartoon-rock-&-roll-Donnie-Darko-time-benders from 25-yards - but the ball pirouettes well wide.

1342: "Kenny Miller returns to haunt his old club."
BBC Scotland pundit Billy Dodds

Again! His first goal in his ill-fated stint at Celtic came against Rangers. Miller is an enigma, wrapped in a puzzle, locked inside a mysterious conundrum and lost in a maze of unpredictability...

1341: GOAL Celtic 1-2 Rangers. A wonderful downward volley across the mainsails of Boruc and that man Kenny Miller has put Rangers back in front. Thomson chipped a precise cross to the back post and Miller ran onto the ball to finish with some aplomb.

1339: Clever play from Maloney. He foxes himself first on the left-hand corner of the Rangers box and in the process bamboozles Bougherra and Davis. The wee man aims a curler towards McGregor's top left-hand corner but it sails narrowly past.

1337: I take that back. Miller is swatted aside by the hulking beast that is Paul Hartley. Outmuscled by a midget. Deary me Kenny.

1335: Miller looks more lively. Walter Smith must have fired a rocket up his bahookie at the break.

1334: Only once in the last 58 Old Firm games has the team that scored first failed to go on and win or at least take a point. Can that be true?

1333: Thomson and Miller get the game underway again.

1329: "The cheers in the background are for former Celtic striker Pierre van Hooijdonk. He is doing the half-time draw at Celtic Park."
BBC Scotland reporter Chick Young

1328: "All to play for in the second half now, it could come down to the tactical use of substitutes I think. Rangers have pace and trickery in Novo and Aaron. Celtic could bring on Robson for a more attacking feature than Hartley." memnoch666 on My Sport
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1322: "Cousin went straight into the arms of Ally McCoist when he scored. Take from that what you will - it may be that the Rangers coach has been very supportive of him."
BBC Scotland reporter Chick Young

1320: Time out. I need a wee rest after that. What just happened? The last five minutes disappeared in whirlwind of incidents. Help me out here: .
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1318: Ref Dougie McDonald toots for half time. Phew! What a wild finish to the opening 45.

1316: "This is a classic."
BBC Scotland pundit Billy Dodds

1314: Papac really made a horse's you-know-what of McGeady's cross to allow Samaras to sneak in. I think the big Bosnian was perhaps deceived by Maloney's headed flick-on and wound up laying it on a plate for the lead guitarist of indie band Kasabian.

1312: Now the game has burst into life! Rangers held their lead for only 100 seconds.

1311: "It's an astonishing game. It lives up to its worldwide reputation."
BBC Scotland commentator David Begg

1310: GOAL Celtic 1-1 Rangers Mendes and Davis make a mess of it in midfield and Celtic nick possession. McGeady's cross is missed by Weir and Papac, and Georgios Samaras, who can't believe his luck, pounces to stroke the ball home from close range.

1309: "Artur Boruc was done like a kipper"
BBC Scotland commentator David Begg

1308: GOAL Celtic 0-1 Rangers. Incredible solo effort from Daniel Cousin. He collects Mendes' swooshing pass and gambols down the right flank, accelerates past Mark Wilson, leaving the Celtic defender trailing in his wake with a sudden change of pace and then foxes Boruc with a low drive from the narrowest of angles.

1305: "Maloney's movement is frightening at the moment."
BBC Scotland commentator David Begg

1304: Weir gets himself in a kerfuffle with little Maloney hovering for scraps. McGregor plucks the loose high ball out of the air to save the Gers' skipper's blushes.

1302: Cousin's snap-volley flies wide. The big man from the Gabon should have done better there. He has been a bit of a handful for the home defence, perhaps justifying his surprise selection.

1300: Celtic have looked more adventurous going forward. But now Rangers are breaking at pace as Broadfoot gallops up the pitch like a runaway spring lamb. Big Bambi passes to Cousin who careers towards the Celtic box but McManus stops him in his tracks with a crunching tackle.

1258: The game has gone a bit flat. The fizz has gone out of it. We need one of those old Sodastream machines to inject some bubbles back into the proceedings.

1256: "Cannot believe Charlie Adam is playing at all. He is overweight and, even in this Rangers team, is out of his depth. Gers will play defensively and play deep keeping fingers crossed they can hit on the break or even scrape a 0-0. Poor show as this Celtic team are not that good and are there for the taking." iainwish on My Sport
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1255: "Any goal scored today is going to come from total football."
BBC Scotland pundit Billy Dodds

What in the name of Johan Cruyff does Billy mean? Total bedlam maybe? I'm not sure we'll be seeing a show worthy of the Dutch masters. But you never know...

1253: Samaras beats Bougherra to McGeady's cross but his header lacks ooomph and McGregor catches the ball easily.

1251: Not sure if he's suffering from a severe dose of the jimmy jitters, but Kenny Miller is having a dreadful game so far. He has the first touch of a fairy elephant.

1250: Neither keeper has had a single thing to do. The entire breathless affair has been played from the edge of one 18-yard box to the other.

1248: McManus is booked for a shoulder charge on Cousin. Or was he booked for a wee niggle off the ball? Either way, Rangers have a free-kick but it comes to nowt.

1246: Superb link-up play between Maloney and McGeady down the left. A reverse pass from the diminutive forward releases the darting winger who hits the touchline before sending a dangerous cross into the box. But Nakamura is muscled off the ball by Broadfoot.

1244: Scott Brown seems to be employed in a man-to-man marking job on Pedro Mendes.

1243: The live commentary is working again! Hurrah!

1242: Thomson then finds space for a shot but he leans back and the ball sails high over Boruc's crossbar.

1240: Eight minutes on the clock and Thomson scythes Nakamura from behind. No need for that - the ball was already away from the Japan midfielder. Yellow card for Thomson. He'll need to be careful from now on. Nakamura's deadball is caught easily by McGregor.

1238: Free-kick wizard Nakamura spins a mesmerising left-foot whizzer into the box. McManus cranes his neck above the Rangers defence like a hungry baby bird but it's too high for the Celtic skipper.

1235: The much-maligned Charlie Adam is involved in everything at the moment. He dinks the ball through Hinkel's legs and hares into the Celtic box. His low cross is blocked. Corner. Davis' delivery is met by Cousin at the near post but his flicked header flashes into the side netting.

1234: Adams' curled corner eludes everyone and floats harmlessly beyond Boruc's far post.

1232: Adams robs Nakamura of possession, but Celtic steal it back. Bougherra wins the first aerial encounter with Samaras. That's gonna be a real clash of the titans. Both men are huge.

1232: And we're off!

1228: The teams take the field to a cacophony of noise.

1226: Celtic fans are waving their passports in the air to taunt Rangers fans about the fact that they were ousted from Europe early doors by Kaunas. Celtic play, among others, Manchester United in the Champions League. Oooh, cheeky!

1225: Surprising that Barry Robson hasn't made the cut today. He made a massive impact on the final two Old Firm games last season. Remember that crunching challenge on Christian Dailly in the first nanosecond of the 2-1 match? I think they call it a 'reducer'. He certainly left his calling card on Dailly.

1224: Celtic Park is packed to the gunnels and we're waiting with bated breath for the teams to emerge from the tunnel.

1221: A plethora of talking points already and the game hasn't even kicked off! Get involved via My Sport. There was some class chat for yesterday's SPL games, so let's take it up a level today.
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1218: Apologies if you're trying to listen to the match commentary online - there's some gremlins in the system and we're doing our best to get it back up and running. Keep the faith.

1215: "I can only think Cousin is in the shop window today and Boyd is on his way out before the transfer window closes. Walter Smith's squad selection continues to baffle me - hopefully he know what he is doing. ?" memnoch666 on My Sport
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1212: Smith has thrown Gers fans a curveball by naming moody blue Daniel Cousin in his starting line up. What is going on there? He splashed out on a flock of strikers in the summer but plays one who has been on his way out of Ibrox for the past 6 months. And didn't exactly cover himself in glory last year...

1210: Teams in full: Celtic: Boruc, Hinkel, Caldwell, McManus, Wilson, Nakamura, Hartley, Scott Brown, McGeady, Maloney, Samaras. Subs: Mark Brown, Vennegoor of Hesselink, Crosas, Robson, Loovens, Hutchinson, O'Dea.

Rangers: McGregor, Broadfoot, Weir, Bougherra, Papac, Davis, Pedro Mendes, Thomson, Adam, Cousin, Miller. Subs: Alexander, Edu, Novo, Dailly, Lafferty, Niguez, McMillan.

1206: "Playing Daniel Cousin against Celtic is madness, and Kris Boyd isn't even in the squad; Rangers fans have the 2 most disliked strikers playing up front today in recent years. Wonder who'll get booed the loudest?"." IBrokeTheBigScreen on My Sport
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1205: "Twice we have lost the first Old Firm game of the season and still won the league, so it not really a marker for the rest of the season. You just have to win the game."
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan

1204: "Daniel played against the Celtic back four before and did well. Picking teams is about balance and we think that Charlie will give us good balance on the left."
Rangers assistant boss Ally McCoist

1204: "The argument was that Boyd could not play up front on his own. But they are playing two and he's still not there - so it is a slap in the face for him."BBC Scotland pundit Billy Dodds

1203: "I find it strange that one of the top strikers in the country is not even on the bench."
BBC Scotland pundit Jim Traynor

Why is Kris Boyd not even on the bench for Rangers?

1202: By contrast, Gordon Strachan names a familiar Celtic starting eleven. Artur Boruc, Andreas Hinkel, Gary Caldwell, Stephen McManus and Mark Wilson are at the back, with Shunsuke Nakamura, Scott Brown, Paul Hartley and Aiden McGeady in midfield. Georgios Samaras and Shaun Maloney form the twin strikeforce. Scott McDonald misses out but Jan Vennegoor of Heeselink makes the bench, despite sustaining a nasty gash on his leg against Falkirk.

1201: Exclusive team news - our man at Celtic Park, Chick Young, has just furnished us with the teams for today's big game...and there are a few surprises for Rangers fans. Daniel Cousin will partner Kenny Miller up front as Walter Smith goes for an attacking 4-4-2 formation. Steve Davies, Pedro Mendes, Kevin Thomson and Charlie Adam line up in midfield. Allan McGregor takes his place between the sticks. Kirk Broadfoot, Madjid Bougherra, Davie Weir and Sasa Papa form the back four.

NO Kris Boyd - the prolific striker doesn't even make the bench. New signing Maurice Edu, who arrived late in the week after being signed from Toronto FC, is on the bench.

1200: Afternoon all! Are the nerves jingle jangling? Is that a silly question? Exciting isn't it?!


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