Rangers clinch title on Celtic turf
by Dan O'Neill
For the many Celtic fans the unthinkable occurred on Sunday, when
Rangers regained the Scottish Premier League title at Parkhead.
I have been to few Old Firm games, but none matched the intensity of
this one.
The championship wasn't at stake here; that had been lost by Celtic
the previous week, but pride was. It was a game that Celtic couldn't
afford to lose, but to be honest, they never looked like winning this
one.
Some dreadful refereeing, which Celtic have become accustomed to over
the years, which culminated in the sending off of Stephen Mahe, for
reasons best known to Hugh Dallas, and an early goal from Rangers
spelt disaster for the Bhoys.
Sadly, some Celtic fans found the prospect of the Old Firm rivals
clinching the title on their own hallowed turf too much to handle.
The attack on the referee and the subsequent pitch invasions let the
club down.
The reaction of the referee was then to award a dubious penalty from
what seemed like a harmless challenge from Riseth on Vidmar, which
was converted by Albertz.
Rangers' third goal, and McCann's (a Celtic fan as a boy) second
completed the rout.
Rangers' imitation of the Celtic huddle and their over-the-top
celebrations after the game in a volatile situation were dangerous
and could have resulted in much greater disturbances.
Celtic's only hope of silverware this season will be the Scottish Cup
on 29 May. They play Rangers in this one also. This is sure to be a
tense game.
Hopefully the Bhoys can restore some pride to the club after the
weekend's events.
St Pat's defend National League
Congratulations to St. Patrick's Athletic, who retained their
National League title at the weekend, the first side to do so in over
a decade.
Jeff Clarke's 53rd minute close-range strike sealed victory for the
Richmond Park side over Bray Wanderers, who were relegated in the
process.
Sunday's win left St. Pat's three points clear of nearest rivals Cork
City, who defeated Shamrock Rovers 3-0.
Not even the most hardened Cork City fan would deny that Liam
Buckley's side deserved their fourth championship of the 1990s.
This year's title was achieved in some style, with a new record
number of points and just 21 goals conceded. On the evidence of the
past twelve months, it will be hard to see anybody challenging the
Saints' supremacy.
Tipperary draw first blood
On Sunday Tipperary drew first blood against Clare ahead of next
month's likely championship encounter, but don't expect Clare to get
too downheartened.
It is well known that spirits aren't tethered at this time of the
year. Victory in their championship encounter for Ger Loughnane's
side will be much sweeter than any National League title.
Nicky English can claim psychological advantage, but even he will
concede that Clare will still be one of the favourites to lift the
Liam McCarthy Cup come September at Croke Park.
The Banner county will see this game as an opportunity to get a sneak
preview of how strong Tipperary really are. For English, though,
reaching the final represents another important step for his evolving
team. Sunday's game lacked the heat of the championship, but their
next encounter will be a passionate affair.
Tipperary will face Galway in a fortnight in the National League
decider after their victory over Kilkenny. Unlike Clare, Galway rely
on a good league run to prepare them for championship, given the lack
of competition in Connaught. The westerners have been impressive this
year and have remained unbeaten throughout the league campaign.
We all know that the championship is a different ball game, but the
clash with Tipp will offer Mattie Murphy's side more competitive
action ahead of their All-Ireland Quarter-Final tie.
Dublin booked their place in the National Football League Final at
the second asking with an impressive win over Armagh. The Ulster side
never recovered from losing star forward Diarmuid Marsden after only
thirteen minutes and were powerless to stop Dublin tearing away in
the second half.
Dublin have still a bit of work to do if they are to be considered
All-Ireland material, but superb performances from Dessie Farrell and
Brian Stynes will offer some optimism for Dublin ahead of their
championship game with Louth.
Sunday's final at Pairc Uí Chaoimh should be a competitive affair.
Tommy Carr will be looking to make more progress with his new look
side and this is a game that Cork are hell bent on winning. There
will no talk of holding back before the championship, and I fancy
home advantage to tip the balance in favour of the Leesiders, who
should repeat their league victory over the Dubs.
Sunday will also see the opening of the Leinster Football
Championship. Westmeath play Carlow, while Wexford, who had a good
league run, face the challenge of Longford. The beginning of the
championship programme signals the start of what has been billed as
``Operation Crackdown''.
This refers to GAA's directive on discipline, which outgoing
President Joe McDonagh discussed at Congress last month.
A new disciplinary programme, which takes power away from the four
provinces and centralises it with the Games Administration Committee,
is in place, and will, from Sunday, be put to the test when and where
matters of indiscipline crop up at major championship games.
A new three-man Referees' Appointment Committee has also been
established, which has instructed referees not to spare the rod with
offenders I hope, though, that common sense prevails and that
referees allow what will be championship games afterall, to be played
hard and competitively.
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