Tom Rogic, that levelled in extra
time for Celtic, missed the vital spot-kick, blazing high and wide.
Kenny Miller,one of the rangers
striker fired in the opening goal, with Celtic replying through an Erik
Sviatchenko header.
A wonderful long-range strike from
Barrie McKay had Rangers in front on 96 minutes before Rogic swept home to set
up a tense Hampden shootout.
Nicky Clark &James Tavernier
failed to convert from the spot for Rangers, while Callum McGregor and captain
Scott Brown could not hit the target for Celtic before Rogic's miss made it 5-4
on penalties to the Championship winners.
Some Minutes before the penalties,
a thunderous and wonderful free-kick from Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths
crashed off the crossbar and bounced off goalkeeper Wes Foderingham before
slipping narrowly wide.
Foderingham also made a good stop
to deny Rogic from close range after the Australian substitute had scored to
make it 2-2.
A pulsating, engrossing and always
combative Old Firm game ended with several players out on their feet, barely
able to move.
The game had been a relentless
affair from the outset. The pitch seemed a clutter of players in the opening
spell, as play ranged from one end to the other.
The defenders had to rely on their wits and hope
that their composure would survive the sense of being under siege
Celtic's back four were certainly
soon aware of the nature of the threat they would face, when McKay - who was
lively and impressively dangerous throughout - speared a ball through to
Miller, whose shot was well stopped by Craig Gordon.
Rangers began to impose their game
plan, passing the ball swiftly and adroitly and taking the set-pieces short,
particularly corners.
Yet Celtic could be incisive on the
break, and Brown ought to have opened the scoring from the edge of the area,
only to tug his shot wide.
Amid the breathlessness, Rangers
found good fortune on their side. The breakthrough came when Tavernier
delivered a poor corner kick that led to the ball breaking to Andy Halliday.
His cross in turn was also mis-hit, but the ball cannoned off Brown into the
path of Miller, who finished coolly.
With Halliday and Jason Holt
pushing forward in central midfield, Rangers were composed and assertive. The
strategy was effective but Celtic could still rely on individuals to be bold
and they should have equalised when Griffiths ' shot bounced off the post, with
the rebound landing at the feet of Patrick Roberts.
With an open goal in front of him,
the on-loan winger skewed wide.
The miss would have galled Celtic,
but so too would the way Rangers often passed the ball around them, even at
close-quarters.
Kieran Tierney, so solid,
dependable and with such sound defensive instincts, was a one-man resistance
for the Premiership leaders for a period before half-time.
Fiery words would certainly have
been spilled inside the Celtic dressing room during the interval. It was
effective, since the team was aggressive, intense and irrepressible at the
start of the second half.
Celtic won four corners in
succession and scored with the last of them, when Roberts' delivery was headed
high into the net by Sviatchenko.
Sviatchenko and Nir Bitton both
came close with headers before players tired and became more conservative.
No quarter could be given, though,
and every aspect of the game was contested.
Celtic certainly believed that a
throw-in early in extra should have gone their way. Instead, Rangers worked the
ball to the edge of the area, where McKay hammered a shot into the top corner.
For all that the players were
drained and sore, the rivals could not be separated and the excellent Tierney
made space to cross and Rogic converted low into the corner.
So,Penalties followed a frantic
finish and Halliday, McKay, Nicky Law, Lee Wallace and Gedion Zelalem held
their nerve to score and set up the first final to be contested by two teams
outside the top flight.
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