Scotland round-up: Old Firm on top ahead of derby
Wednesday, December 4, 2002
Article summary
Celtic FC beat Hibernian FC and Rangers FC survived a Livingston FC fightback ahead of the Old Firm derby.
Article body
Stilian Petrov ensured Celtic FC remain in pole position in the Scottish Premier League after scoring the only goal of tonight's match against Hibernian FC.
Rangers' win
The Bulgarian international's 75th-minute strike from 15 metres put paid to a fighting Hibs side and kept Martin O'Neill's champions one point ahead of Glasgow rivals Rangers FC who narrowly defeated Livingston FC 4-3 at Ibrox.
Second derby
Celtic now travel to Ibrox on Saturday for the second Old Firm derby of the season hoping Henrik Larsson and Chris Sutton will be fit after injury ruled them out of the Easter Road encounter.
Made to sweat
Livingston made Rangers sweat for their win after appearing down and out at half-time. By that stage, Rangers were 3-0 ahead thanks to captain Barry Ferguson's opener and two goals from Shota Arveladze, who completed his hat-trick in the 46th minute.
Bollan sent off
The fourth goal provided the cue for a Livingston fightback, which started with a Rolando Zarate strike and gathered further impetus when Barry Wilson made it 4-2. Gary Bollan was then sent off before Zarate added a third for the ten men three minutes from time, but the comeback of the season was thwarted by the final whistle.
Result of the night
Elsewhere on Wednesday, the result of the night belonged to Motherwell FC who thrashed Heart of Midlothian FC 6-1 after previously collecting a solitary point in eleven league games - a run which included nine straight defeats. Goals from Stephen Pearson, James McFadden (2), Derek Adams, Martyn Corrigan and Stevie Ferguson ensured a fine win for the side at the bottom of the table.
Third force
Dundee FC ended Partick Thistle FC's run of two straight victories by winning 4-1 at Dens Park, while Dunfermline Athletic FC ensured they remain Scotland's emerging third force with a thumping 4-1 win against Dundee United FC. Finally, Gary McSwegan's second-half goal was enough to seal all three points for Kilmarnock FC against a lacklustre Aberdeen FC on Tuesday night.
