Scottish Premier League wrap: Celtic get Old Firm revenge

A Georgios Samaras double helped Celtic exact revenge on Old Firm rivals Rangers with a 2-0 win at Ibrox on Sunday.

Two goals within the space of eight second half minutes from the Greek international sealed the win for Celtic and moved them four points clear of their Glasgow neighbours at the top of the Scottish Premier League.

Rangers had won four out of the last six Old Firm derbies, including a 3-1 victory at Celtic Park in October, but it was Neil Lennon’s side who controlled Sunday’s match to take a valuable advantage in the league.

The hosts went closest in the first half when Lee McCulloch’s header was cleared off the line by Emilio Izaguirre via the crossbar after just five minutes.

But there was little else in the way of excitement at either end for the remainder of the half, until Samaras brought the game to life after the restart.

He nearly helped to break the deadlock just seconds into the second half after he released Paddy McCourt with a flicked header, only for the midfielder to push his shot wide of the far post.

But Samaras made no mistake on 62 minutes, beating goalkeeper Allan McGregor to the ball after Joe Ledley’s chipped pass before finishing into the open net to give Celtic the lead.

The Greek then sealed the win in the 70th minute, converting from the penalty spot after he was needlessly felled by Madjid Bougherra as he surged into the area.

Rangers did have a couple of late chances through Sasa Papac and Bougherra, but they left their run too late in what was a lacklustre performance from the Scottish champions.

Elsewhere on Sunday, substitute Collin Samuel scored a late goal as St Johnstone beat Inverness CT 1-0 at McDiarmid Park.

The match looked destined for a 0-0 draw until Samuel, who had only been on the pitch for 12 minutes, bobbed up with five minutes remaining to score the winner for the hosts.

St Johnstone remain in eighth place on the table after the win, while Inverness slip further behind Kilmarnock on goal difference in fifth.