Rangers Vs. Celtic, 2011 Scottish Premier League: Full Time, Gers Win First Old Firm Derby 4-2

One Old Firm Derby down, two to go. Rangers are top of the Scottish Premier League and have the upper hand in their cross-town rivalry after Sunday afternoon’s encounter, beating Celtic 4-2 at the Ibrox Stadium in an absolutely fantastic match for the neutrals. Celtic went into halftime with a lead, but a brilliant second half performance by Rangers has given them a deserved home win.

Steven Naismith put Rangers on the board early in the first half, but Celtic took the lead with two unanswered goals on bad errors. Gary Hooper scored the equalizer in the 34th minute, kept onside by Carlos Bocanegra’s failure to step up, and that was quickly followed by a Badr El Kaddouri goal on an Allan McGregor howler.

Rising star Nikica Jelavic, the subject of multiple transfer bids over the summer, would bring Rangers level in the 55th minute, scoring on a great header off of a Steven Davis cross. Rangers continued to push forward and would find their winner in the 67th, thanks to some persistence by Kyle Lafferty, as well as some bad defending. After a lengthy scramble in the box during which Celtic should have cleared, Lafferty eventually took the ball around Fraser Forster and placed it into the back of the net, giving his team the lead.

Things continued to go downhill for Celtic throughout the second half. Charlie Mulgrew was sent off in the 75th minute for a second yellow card, killing their chances at a comeback. In stoppage time, Steven Naismith added a second goal - his sixth in seven league games - putting the icing on the cake in a fantastic win for the home side.