Old Firm reaction and what we learned about Rangers plus Celtic in final derby this season
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00:00Hello and welcome to Fitbit Talk, your weekly lowdown on Celtic and Rangers.
00:04I am not Lewis Anderson and I am Ben Banks.
00:07I am in the hosting chair this week instead of Lewis asking me the questions
00:10because he was at Ibrox on Sunday as Rangers drew one each with Celtic
00:15in the final Premiership Old Firm Derby of the season.
00:19A one-all draw, a fairly low-key event, not one I think will be remembered
00:24for all too long in the minds of both sets of fans.
00:27Since the Rangers very much focused on takeover talks by the 49ers,
00:32Celtic have eyes on a treble.
00:34But we'll look back on the game in a little bit of detail.
00:37Just now, Lewis, you were at the game for MD who was living under a rock on Sunday
00:43and didn't see it.
00:44Then Cyril Dessers put Rangers ahead in the first half after an equal Raskin goal
00:49was rolled out at the media leveled in the second half.
00:52They did have a chance to win at Celtic right at the end.
00:54Dyson Maira could have squared it to Johnny Kenny for what would have been
00:56a memorable goal for the young Celtic striker to win it with what was virtually
01:01the last kick of the ball.
01:02Was it to be in one each is how the game finished?
01:05Doesn't mean anything in terms of the league table.
01:08Rangers know they're finishing second.
01:09Celtic know they're finishing first.
01:11Both teams' Premiership campaigns and a competitive entity is done.
01:16And they have three games left before it comes to a conclusion from being in the ground,
01:22Lewis, where your general takes on the game.
01:24It kind of had an end-of-season feel to it.
01:27I don't think the game was kind of played with the kind of type of needle that you'd necessarily
01:34expect from an old-firm fixture, given that obviously we knew that the title had already
01:39been decided and two teams have very little to play for.
01:43Rangers are obviously trying to attempt to salvage some personal pride on the back of
01:47this woeful domestic campaign and looking to continue that decent run in the fixture
01:53that they've managed to build up.
01:54They were trying to win a third match against Celtic in one season for the first time since
02:021996.
02:03And to be fair to Rangers' first half, they were probably decent value for their lead at
02:11halftime.
02:12Stark came flying out of the traps, obviously had a couple of decent chances in the first
02:16half.
02:17Liam Balligan right in the first minute, heading off the crossbar from the corner.
02:22Raskin had a goal disallowed.
02:24And Dessert's goal was kind of really well taken, wasn't it?
02:29Normally needs quite a few chances to put one away, but it was his first opportunity of
02:33the game.
02:34He was pretty quiet up until that point.
02:36Sticks it away pretty convincingly.
02:39And then you kind of think to yourself, all right, okay, Rangers look really up for this,
02:43but clearly Brendan Rodgers gave his Celtic players a bit of a halftime rollicking.
02:48And it was night and day in the second half, Celtic by far the better team.
02:52Obviously, good time for the equaliser through Adam Eda.
02:57Probably needs that goal given the criticism he's had this season.
03:01I think that's his third time he's scored in the fixture against Rangers.
03:04So you'll be pleased to be back among the goals.
03:09But I think it was the type of game that, as you say, Ben, Celtic had the chance to win
03:15it right at the end.
03:15But I don't think on the balance of play that I kind of feel a draw was a fair result.
03:21I don't think either team really did enough for me to merit winning the game outright.
03:26I think it kind of left us with more kind of questions than answers really heading into the summer.
03:34We know obviously Rangers are going to be a totally different looking squad heading into next season
03:41with this 49ers takeover urgently needing to happen.
03:46And Celtic didn't teach us much.
03:50It's probably taught us that they could do his strengthening in one or two areas in particular.
03:56But I think Brendan Rodgers will be happy enough just to have left Ibrox with a point
04:03and avoided that run of three straight defeats in the fixture.