April 18, (THEWILL) – Glasgow Rangers fought back from a goal down to defeat Celtic 2-1 in a gruelling Scottish FA Cup semi-final on Easter Sunday that went to extra time.
The second Old Firm derby in 14 days, played in front of a raucous Hampden Park, got off to a dramatic start. The game had settled into a smouldering deadlock by the time the plumes of smoke from the prematch pyrotechnics had cleared.
Rangers took the risky step of man-marking Celtic’s midfield from the short goal kicks that Ange Postecoglou’s side insisted on, effectively trapping Celtic in their own half.
In the dying minutes of a first half littered with soft free kicks, John Lundstram came closest to breaking the deadlock, thwacking the base of Joe Hart’s post with a clean left-footed drive.
With only one alteration from the starting XI that battled Braga for two hours on Thursday, errors started to sneak into Rangers’ game in the second half.
A quick free kick in the 64th minute caught the Gers off guard. A beautiful first touch gave space for a shot that skidded graciously off Nigerian defender Calvin Bassey and into the bottom corner against the run of play after a deflection into Greg Taylor’s foot on the edge of the box.
Cameron Carter-Vickers had a fantastic opportunity to double Celtic’s advantage but hit the crossbar with a close-range shot.
With a timely entrance of Scott Arfield, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s charges drew level. Kemar Roofe, who had been sent charging into attack from James Tavernier’s low cross, stroked an equaliser straight into the corner three minutes after coming on.
Rangers were forced to play extra time for the second time in four days.
Arfield provided the spark once more, breaking from deep in the second half of extra time to fizz the ball into the box where James Tavernier and later Fashion Sakala were both denied by the woodwork, which was thwarted by a combination of Hart and Carter-Vickers.
In the 115th minute, though, neither Celtic man could stop their own colleague. Carl Starfelt mistakenly turned Bassey’s cross past Hart, bringing Rangers to the Scottish FA Cup final against Hearts.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
