Great Moments in Hunskelping History: Demolition Derby

By: Matt | September 30th, 2009

Celtic meet their oldest and most fierce rivals this weekend. As the week progresses, we will look back at various great victories over Rangers and hope to feel this excited again on Sunday.

At a time when Celtic needed a dose of positivity, on August 27th, 2000 they received just what the doctor ordered. Not only did they get a dose of positivity from Martin O’Neill, they got a extra-strengthen prescription of beating Rangers, which seemed to cure Celtic’s ailments. If there was anything that turned the tides of the power int he SPL, it was this match. Celtic had since recovered from Rangers nine in a row run and had ended their campaign to break Celtic’s record for titles in a row. However, coming into the 2000/2001, Rangers had won two titles in a row and Celtic were trying anything to get back on top. Enter Martin O’Neill, Chris Sutton, and Joos Valgaeren to the picture. After four games into the season, Celtic seemed to be back on track, with four wins and four games, but the real first test for Martin O’Neill and company would be at home against Rangers.

The Celtic side which lined up on that day in front of Celtic Park makes interesting reading, especially when reflecting on the changes made to the squad in the weeks and months to come. Celtic’s line-up was: Gould; McNamara, Mahe, Stubbs, Valgaeren; Petta, Lambert, Petrov, Moravcik, Sutton, Larsson. This new line-up got off to a quick start when less than a minute in Chris Sutton got his first goal against Rangers. A corner from Lubo was knocked down and as Henke’s attempted shot appeared to be go by the post, Sutton was on hand to slide it into the net to record the fastest goal in the history of the Celtic/Rangers rivalry. If that a was a quick start, then Celtic fans enjoyed an even quicker addition to the Celtic lead. Petrov got on the end of another dangerous Lubo corner to head home, and then Lambert, from the edge of the box, crashed in an unstoppable shot past the Rangers keeper in the Rangers goal, after Lubo had cut the ball back from the goal line to make the lead 3-0. Rangers would get a goal back three minutes to half time, but Celtic clearly dominated the proceedings and went into half-time leading 3-1.

Celtic got the scoring started in the second half by one of the best goals ever seen at Celtic Park. Of course, this wonder goal was scored by Henrik Larsson. A ball cleared up field saw Sutton do well to control the ball with his chest and lay it inside for Larsson. From there, Larsson drove forward, nutmegged a Rangers defender, and then chipped the ball over the Rangers keeper to make the game 4-1. Henke would add to his goal total and Celtic’s goal total a bit later when his head met a Petta free kick to make the match 5-1. Of course, some things never change when Rangers were awarded a penalty, but even dodgy refereeing could not save them at this point, as the match was still at 5-2. Chris Sutton decided that a three goal lead was not sufficient, and he ended the match the way he started the match, when he slid into a Mahe cross to put Celtic up to 6-2. Rangers were playing like a team who knew they were beaten while Celtic bestrode the pitch like a side who knew they were better. Barry Ferguson eventually decided he, too, had had enough and was sent off in the closing minutes of the game.

The day finally concluded and Celtic took one of their best victories over Rangers in their history. They create songs for 7-1 victories, but since I was no where near to being born for that one, this game has a special place with supporter’s who are around my age. Of course, Martin O’Neill and Celtic would go on to play well off of this performance and end Rangers’ title runs with a SPL title of their own.