Rangers vs Celtic. Scottish Cup Semi-Final.
Hampden ParkAttendance48,629.
Report as Celtic beat Rangers 1-0 to reach the Scottish Cup final; Jota headed Celtic ahead just before half-time; Alfredo Morelos' shot was cleared off the line and James Tavernier hit the post; the Hoops will face Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the final at Hampden Park on June 3
Sunday 30 April 2023 16:58, UK
Celtic's treble hopes remain alive after Jota's header ended Rangers' Scottish Cup defence and any chance of silverware this season.
The Portuguese winger made the most of a defensive error to head Ange Postecoglou's side ahead in the 42nd minute of a tense Old Firm semi-final at Hampden Park.
Alfredo Morelos, James Tavernier, Fashion Sakala and Rabbi Matondo all had chances to pull Rangers level but they could not find a way through the Celtic defence.
Celtic will now face Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the final on June 3 with the chance of clinching another domestic treble.
With the Hoops just three points from retaining the title, Rangers are all but guaranteed to end the season without a trophy.
Rangers were boosted by the return of defender Connor Goldson and winger Ryan Kent was back after injury, while Reo Hatate and Jota were included in Celtic's starting XI.
Don Robertson was drafted in as the match referee after Willie Collum injured himself in the warm-up and took his place as fourth official, before being replaced by John Beaton.
After a brief delay to clear the smoke from a pyrotechnic display by both sets of fans, Rangers started on the front foot with Nicolas Raskin's 20-yard effort deflected wide inside the opening minute.
Celtic then began to control the game with the Rangers defence forced to clear some dangerous balls into the box, but their first attempts on goal did not come until the 27th minute with Allan McGregor beating away shots by Alistair Johnston and Jota.
Injuries have plagued Rangers' season and Malik Tillman was forced off before half-time to be replaced by veteran midfielder Scott Arfield.
A defensive disaster allowed Celtic to take the lead just before the break. Rangers switched off as Matt O'Riley went to ground, Daizen Maeda pounced and his perfectly-weighted cross was headed into the net by Jota.
With Rangers' only remaining chance of silverware hanging in the balance, Michael Beale made a half-time change as Sakala replaced Kent.
Only a brilliant piece of defending stopped Morelos equalising as Cameron Carter-Vickers cleared the ball off the line.
Celtic lost influential defender Johnston to injury, with Anthony Ralston taking his place, as the game swung back in favour of the Hoops and McGregor did well to turn Kyogo's effort wide as the Japanese striker looked to score in a fourth consecutive Old Firm game.
Joe Hart was called into action on the hour to keep Celtic in front as he reacted to keep Sakala's header out of the net.
With Rangers' hopes of retaining the Scottish Cup fading, Tavernier saw his shot crash off the post before Sakala fired the rebound into the side-netting.
The Rangers captain then sent a header bouncing just over the bar from Borna Barisic's cross, Hart pushed Matondo's effort to safety and Carter-Vickers cleared Ridvan Yilmaz's effort as the holders continued to press for a crucial goal.
But, with Beale's side growing more desperate with the clock counting down, Celtic sat deeper and absorbed the pressure to see out the game.
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou:
"Really proud of the players, they had to earn it as they should in a semi-final.
"We knew what was a stake. For Rangers, this was their last opportunity to gain some success so we knew it was going to require all facets of our game and I thought we did that.
"We played our football when we needed to, we defended really strong when we needed to which was underpinned by the unbelievable work ethic this group has.
"They've found a way to overcome the challenge again which is all credit to them.
"I get the narrative, we'll be lucky again, but that's all right, we will just keep winning games of football.
"We defended really well. There were a lot of balls coming into the box and the two centre-halves were outstanding.
"Look at the work-rate of our front players. Daizen Maeda was incredible, particularly in the first half. You have to earn these things and I'm pleased this team showed they can be resilient as well as playing football."
Rangers boss Michael Beale:
"I'm bitterly disappointed. Fine margins will generally decide big matches and I think we've made an error again in a moment and conceded a goal.
"The game has been very harsh on us. I thought in the second half we took the game to Celtic, we had big moments that we haven't executed.
"In big games you can't have that much of the play and make a mistake and get away with it. We always felt we could carry a threat.
"In the second half we made a lot of good running and had chances but we're missing big chances, similar to the cup final here.
"You want opportunities in their end, you want possession of the ball, you want to be able to take the game to them - all of that happened.
"But if you get an opportunity and don't take it and then make an error, you fall short against a good team. We had our moments, like in previous games against Celtic, but we've fallen short."
