Scottish Premier League: Rangers 2 Celtic 2
CELTIC head coach Jozef Venglos last night insisted his title mission remains on course after a battling draw with Rangers and claimed his players were angered to be denied victory.
Venglos revealed a mixture of pride and disappointment at a 2-2 draw which leaves his men 10 points adrift of Rangers, but still with genuine hope of retaining the championship.
But Venglos and company believe they may even have departed Ibrox with a surprise victory had a penalty appeal early in the second-half not been denied.
Andrei Kanchelskis’ felled Stephane Mahe in the area with the score poised at 1-1 after Gabriel Amato’s 45thminute header had cancelled out Alan Stubbs’ opener.
But nothing was given and Rangers regained the initiative through Rod Wallace’s volley before Henrik Larsson bundled in a 66th-minute leveller.
Rangers: Klos, Porrini, Amoruso, Hendry, Ferguson, Kanchelskis (Albertz 61), Van Bronckhorst, Amato, Wallace, McCann (Johansson 72), Vidmar.
Celtic: Gould, Boyd, Mahe, McNamara, Stubbs, Larsson, O’Donnell, Lambert, Moravcik, Riseth, Mjallby.
Att: 50,059 Ref: J McCluskey (Stewarton).
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FAI Harp Lager National League: Derry City 1 Waterford Utd 0
Doc provides Derry cure
AN Eamonn Doherty goal 10 minutes from time gave Derry City their first win in four games at Brandywell yesterday.
Darren Kelly did tremendously well to fend off his marker and nod down a corner for Doherty to spin and hook the ball into the net.
The goal sparked a flurry of late activity in complete contrast to what had been going on for the previous 80 minutes.
Two minutes from time a Beckett shot was deflected just wide of the upright with the keeper rooted to the spot.
And almost immediately afterwards Hargan had a good opportunity but just headed wide.
As ever most of the enterprising work for Derry was down to Liam Coyle.
He almost gave the game the perfect start with a left foot effort which flashed inches wide after just 10 seconds.
But nearly all of Coyle’s hard work was undone by sloppy finishing
Dundalk: Williams, Reddish, Capper, Gollogley, Brady, Campbell, McNulty, Melvin, Crawley, Ward, Withnell
Subs: Harte for Capper, Dunne for Ward, Sharkey for Melvin
Bohemians: Dempsey, O’Connor, Mullen, Doyle, Brunton, Kelly, O’Hanlon, Hunt, Byrne, Lawlor, Swan
Subs: Byrne for Lawlor
Ref: G Perry (Dublin).
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GARY Lough finished ninth in the middle-distance race at the BUPA Great North Cross-Country in Durham on Saturday.
The Annadale Strider was attempting to emulate the feat of his fellow-northerner Gareth Turnbull who claimed victory in the race 12 months ago. Lough was up with the leaders for the opening 1200m but an injection of pace from John Mayock on the second lap saw him fall off the pace.
The race then turned into pure farce with Mayock sprinting for the remainder of the second circuit in the assumption it was the final lap.
Both he and Basingstoke’s Philip Tulba headed the wrong way which left Spencer Barden to claim victory by completing the three laps.
Mayock rejoined the race but he had lost too much ground and finished 11 seconds back in seventh place.
Explosive performances from Million Wolde and Gete Wami saw Ethiopia winning top honours at the meeting.
