Great Moments in Hunskelping History: The Start Pt. 2

By: Matt | September 29th, 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.

Celtic and Rangers were to meet for the second time in 11 days as a result of match congestion and rescheduling. Many Celtic fans were unhappy with this decision, noting that often times Celtic requested similar treatment in the past, but it was ignored. However, these tunes were quickly changed when it gave the Bhoys two cracks at their bitter rivals after being behind them in the standings. After the dramatic late winner the last time the two teams met, Celtic Park was ready to take another step towards an improbable comeback in the standings. Although, to be technical it wasn’t a comeback at all. After Celtic yet again defeated their most bitter of rivals, Celtic would take a 5 point lead in the standings, with Rangers having 3 games in hand. Most assumed that Rangers would cruise in these games at hand, but you know what they say what happens when you assume, as it certainly made an arse of Rangers. Of course, this game would be a typical back and forth affair, which was par for the course in this rivalry.

The first half saw of this crucial match up saw more goals produced by both teams than in the entire previous 90 minutes 11 days before. Celtic once again took the lead first, when four minutes in Scott McDonald put the Bhoys ahead. The lead what short-lived though, as Rangers equalized just 13 minutes later with a David Weir header and then Daniel Cousin put Rangers ahead in the 28th minute. Celtic had to prove their ability to come from behind under pressure, and they stepped up yet again. Scott McDonald would get his second goal of the day and one of the thirty goals he netted that season with a neat turn and chip over the keeper to level things just two minutes before half time. Celtic’s season would once again come down to their performance in 45 minutes.

Luckily for the blood pressure of all the Celtic supporters, the Bhoys did wait until the dying seconds of extra time to put away Rangers. Scott McDonald earned his man of the match that day, with two goals, but Skippy was not content with that. With 20 minutes remaining, McDonald broke free again and was taken down in the box by Kirk Broadfoot. Ginger Hunskelper Barry Robson took the step up to take the penalty and coolly finished the spot kick to give Celtic the lead. Being the hay-day of Walter Smith’s 10-0-0 formation, Rangers were not able to find an equalizer. After an April where Rangers were considered the Champions elect of the SPL, the race for the title just got very interesting. Of course, what would a Celtic-Rangers match up be without a little off the field controversy. Unsurprisingly, it was Celtic cult hero Artur Boruc who provided the controversy with his “God Bless the Pope” shirt featuring Pope John Paul II.

Controversy aside, Celtic were officially in the title hunt. We all know what happened next. Rangers would falter in their games in hand and Celtic would ultimately win the SPL on the last day against Dundee United. These 11 days saw Celtic go from down and out to the team with all momentum that would eventually lead to glory. I think it is safe to say that these two games over 11 days in April were some of the greatest examples of “Great Moments in Hunskelping History.”