The start of a new series looking at great Celtic wins over the Christmas/New Year period as Thecomicsnob remembers our 2-0 win at Ibrox in 2011.
If we go back to January 2nd 2011 Celtic weren’t expected to do much against Rangers. We had started the season well with 8 league wins in a row but then meekly lost 3-1 against Rangers. The team had also thrown away points after three home draws in a row and as a result went into the game one point ahead of Rangers but having played two games more.
Also problematic were the huge number of injuries Celtic had going into the game, with Brown, Hooper, Murphy, Kapo and new signing Freddie Ljungberg all out. Ki and Cha were also unavailable as they were on international duty. There was the accusation leveled at manager Neil Lennon that his team had failed to win ‘big’ games – that was about to change, as was the reputation of Georgios Samaras.
Celtic opted to play a cautious 4-4-1-1, with Rogne and Majstorovic the centre-halfs, Kayal partnering Ledley in the middle and Pat McCourt playing off Samaras up front. The game began with former Celtic and Rangers legends John Greig and Billy McNeil leading the teams up and a minute’s silence was impeccably observed in honour of the victims of the Ibrox Disaster.
Rangers had the game’s first real chance, when a Lee McCulloch header was diverted by Izaguirre onto the crossbar. That was the only real chance of the first half as the game degenerated in a typical midfield battle, with no real football getting played. The second half began differently as McCourt spurned a great chance to give Celtic the lead as he hit a shot wide after a great pass from Samaras. Celtic then took the lead in the 62nd minute, as a great Joe Ledley pass set Samaras through. Alan McGregor rushed out of his goal but Samaras had the guile to take the ball round him and slot into the empty net. It was Sammy’s first goal of the season and he celebrated by running headfirst into the Celtic fans.
His second of the season came eight minutes later, this time from the penalty spot after Bougherra had upended Samaras after he had went on one of his trademark mazy runs. Despite McGregor diving the right way the penalty went in and the Celts were 2-0 up. Despite some pressure from Rangers, Celtic comfortably held on for a famous win.
This win was the making of Georgios Samaras – it turned him into a bona fide cult hero in the eyes of the fans. Despite the fact he can be very frustrating at times, he has turned into an invaluable player, particularly in Europe, his goals being vital in this season’s Champions League run. The likes of Beram Kayal and Charlie Mulgrew also benefited hugely from that game, Kayal was arguably our best player the for remainder of that season and Mulgrew improved so much that he won all the player of the year awards last season.
The result proved valedictory for Neil Lennon, as it proved that he could win the ‘big’ games, especially in such difficult circumstances. Even though Celtic blew the league title that season, Celtic – and Lennon have since went on from strength to strength, and it can all be traced back to that superb win at Ibrox.