Rangers may have to accept it’s not their year as decisions for Celtic go beyond parody vs Hibernian
Rangers fans will be deflated after watching Celtic scrape a 2-1 win over a 10-man Hibernian this Sunday, as their Scottish Premiership hopes take another hit.
Gers slipped up with their 3-2 loss to Motherwell last time out in the league, and they need Hearts and Celtic to do the same over these next couple of games.
With a trip to Tynecastle Park lined up for Monday, the Bears could have had the chance to be walking away from the game with more points than Celtic, depending on how the Hoops got on this weekend.
However, Martin O’Neill’s side grabbed another three points, but that wasn’t for decisions that seemed to go their way, despite a controversial goal they conceded.
Rangers aren’t getting the luck they need, though teams around them are, which is sometimes the difference between winning the league or not.
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These decisions show Celtic got lucky vs Hibs
There was plenty of uproar online when Joe Newell volleyed in an equaliser for Hibs before the break, with some suggesting the ball came down from a touch off his arm.
However, a second replay of the sequence showed that Newell took the ball on part of his sleeve and chest, and the goal was rightly given, but Celtic had luck going for them anyway.
| Stats | Hibernian | Celtic |
| Goals | 1 | 2 |
| Possession | 19% | 81% |
| Fouls | 7 | 11 |
| Yellow cards | 3 | 3 |
| Red cards | 1 | 0 |
Easter Road was left baffled by Jamie McGrath’s sending off, especially when there was a much worse incident when Colby Donovan was given a warning for a clear, reckless challenge on Hibernian’s Jordan Obita in the Hoops’ 2-1 win last November.
McGrath’s sending off changed the complexion of the game in Celtic’s favour, and even when the Hoops concede a goal, it always seems like it takes forever to actually be given against them, with O’Neill and Co. constantly complaining.
Not to mention that members of McGrath’s family are Celtic fans, with suggestions that the player himself is one. Make of that what you will.
To sum it up, goalscorer Daizen Maeda was seen deliberately booting the ball at Josh Campbell, despite the ball being out of play, and didn’t receive any booking for doing so.
Rangers’ hopes of winning the league are already low, and given the fact that their worst enemies keep getting poor decisions in their favour, it may be time to accept the reality of this season.
The one positive that Rangers have over Hearts
You have to give credit to Hearts; they have kept going even when everybody expected them to fall off, and Derek McInnes is a large reason why.
However, the Jambos are now in a situation where they should be the favourites to win the league, but they know that these last two games against Hearts and Rangers will ultimately decide their fate.
Failure to get anything against Gers could knock them off the top spot, if Rangers run riot at Tynecastle, and that will be on their minds.
If anything, Celtic’s latest win has only reaffirmed that Rangers are now the underdogs with four games left to play, and that could help them.
However, time will tell, as failure to beat Hearts would most likely be the end of the story for this term.
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