Rangers 0 Samaras 2..
NEIL Lennon’s first trip to Ibrox as the Celtic manager ended in victory as the Hoops started the New Year in style and picked up all three points in the Glasgow derby. A 2-0 win thanks to a Georgios Samaras double just after the hour mark saw the visitors extend their lead at the top of the SPL table to four points. The Greek striker was one of three changes Lennon made to the side which put in an outstanding performance for the 90 minutes. Beram Kayal, who excelled in the centre of midfield, replaced the suspended Scott Brown, while Charlie Mulgrew also came into the starting XI at the expense of the injured Olivier Kapo. Anthony Stokes who dropped to the bench. The match started in typical high-tempo with the deadlock almost being broken after just five minutes. Lee McCulloch headed the ball towards the top corner of the net but Emilio Izaguirre was on hand to clear it off the line, heading the ball up and off the crossbar. Rangers enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening 10 minutes, but there were few chances in front of goal for either side. As the game progressed, though, Celtic grew in confidence and pushed play up the pitch. James Forrest did well to increase the pressure in front of Allan McGregor’s goal but his cross into Samaras on 17 minutes was too soft to trouble the home side’s defence. And the winger had a chance himself in front of goal five minutes later when Paddy McCourt played him in, but a McCulloch tackle saw it cleared for a corner. The more the first-half progressed the more the Hoops began to dominate the game, with Izaguirre executing some twisting turns to get the better of the home side. But despite good movement from Kayal, who was providing the spark in midfield, Celtic still couldn’t provide the final touch. The match had barely kicked off for the second-half when Celtic almost opened the scoring. McCourt latched on to a Samaras header and struck a low drive just past the far post only seconds after the re-start. This was quickly followed by a Mulgrew free-kick which was cleared for a corner at the far side and the resulting cross into the box was almost met by the head of Daniel Majstorovic. But on 62 minutes, Celtic opened the scoring. A fantastic long ball from Joe Ledley deep inside Celtic’s half found Samaras, and the Greek striker rounded McGregor and slotted home his first league goal of the season. The Ibrox side tried to respond immediately but Majstorovic was on hand to hold Kenny Miller off before the striker could do any damage with the ball. And it was Samaras who continued to cause problems for the Rangers defence. Just seven minutes after breaking the deadlock the striker converted a penalty to double the visitors’ lead. After skipping past Madjid Bougherra, the goalscorer was fouled inside the box and took full advantage of the spot-kick. Again Rangers attempted to respond immediately, but despite Sasa Papac’s long-range shot getting through the busy penalty box, it rolled inches past the near post. Steven Davis came close with a dipping free-kick on 78 minutes but it was too little too late for the home side. Kayal had an ambitious effort from 30 yards out fly just past the post but by then the points were heading back to Paradise.
"He who Dares" in this game.
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