The Rangers cry injustice, Celtic deserved winners

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The Celtic Star

·2 November 2025

The Rangers cry injustice, Celtic deserved winners

Celtic booked our place in the 2025 Premier Sports Cup final with a 3-1 extra-time win over theRangers, in a game we should have had well and truly wrapped up in the regulation ninety minutes…

Martin O’Neill, Interim Manager of Celtic, looks on during the Premier Sports Cup Semi Final match between Celtic and theRangers at Hampden Park on November 02, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The latest Ibrox club had Theo Aasgaard deservedly sent off in the first half after a vicious high challenge on Tony Ralston with Celtic already a goal to the good, but let’s not them use that as the predictable excuse for their failure, as Celtic by far the better team and were deserved winners in the end.

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Martin O’Neill’s side started brightly and we thought we had taken the lead due to a comical own goal, but VAR intervened to rule it out after spotting a very questionable offside in the build up with Andrew Dallas drawing the VAR lines.

Johnny Kenny soon had us back celebrating with a fine bulleted header via a superb corner kick delivery from the foot of Arne Engels.

We survived a scare just on the stroke of half time when Auston Trusty caught the head of Jack Butland, albeit accidentally, but he was shown a yellow which was perhaps the right call, despite the raging Bears whining about it deserving to be a red.

Johnny Kenny of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammate Benjamin Nygren during the Premier Sports Cup Semi Final match between Celtic and theRangers at Hampden Park on November 02, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

That fighting spirit and fluency we witnessed against Falkirk was evident once again from Martin O’Neill’s Celtic side although we failed to convert a host of good chances, and you just knew what was going to happen next as Nick Walsh gave the latest Ibrox side a helping hand as he pointed to the spot after judging Tony Ralston to have blocked a goal bound effort with his ticked in elbow. It was a disgraceful decision which Willie Collum is going to struggle to justify.

It was a harsh call so we thought VAR would at least ask Nick Walsh to go to the monitor but Andrew Dallas wasn’t interested and the penalty King James Tavernier made no mistake from the spot to get his side back in the game.

Martin O’Neill, Interim Manager of Celtic, looks on during the Premier Sports Cup Semi Final match between Celtic and theRangers at Hampden Park on November 02, 2025 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Extra time it was to be, and the Hoops made their man advantage count by scoring through Callum McGregor and substitute Callum Osmand to give the game the scoreline it deserved.

TheRangers will no doubt cry injustice, but they got what they fully deserved, and that was nothing. See you all at Hampden again next month. Bring on the Buddies.

By the way Johnny Kenny and Callum Osmand are decent players. Well done to St Martin for giving them their chance.

Now let’s win in Denmark.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, signed copies by Danny McGrain available from celticstarbooks.com

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Celtic in the Eighties and Willie Fernie – Putting on the Style both by David Potter. Photo The Celtic Star

Danny McGrain signing copies of Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Photo: Celtic Star Books