Celtic 1-2 Rangers: Carl Starfelt's own goal in extra-time sends Gers into Scottish Cup final

Match report as Rangers beat Celtic to reach the Scottish Cup final for the first time since 2016; Greg Taylor's deflected shot gives Celtic the lead; Scott Arfield comes off the bench to equalise; Carl Starfelt's own goal in extra-time secures the win; Rangers will face Hearts on May 21

By Alison Conroy

Monday 18 April 2022 07:19, UK

Rangers showed no sign of a European hangover as they beat Celtic after extra-time at Hampden Park to reach their first Scottish Cup final since 2016 and end their rivals' treble dream.

It was Celtic who took the lead through Greg Taylor in the second half before Scott Arfield came off the bench to equalise for Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men to take the semi-final into the extra period.

Carl Starfelt then knocked the ball into his own net to send Celtic's Old Firm rivals through to the final to face Hearts at Hampden Park on May 21.

How the teams lined up | Match stats
Download Sky Sports app | Get Sky Sports

How Rangers ended Celtic's treble bid

Ryan Kent fired an effort high over the bar in the early stages as Rangers started the match with intent, with Joe Aribo heading over seconds later.

At the other end Daizen Maeda tried to run onto a loose ball 10 yards out, but Jon McLaughlin was there to deal with the danger.

Jota then headed inches over the crossbar from a brilliant cross from Josip Juranovic as Celtic pushed for the opening goal.

It was end-to-end as Kemar Roofe's long-range effort then sailed just past the post.

James Tavernier's cross then flew across the Celtic box with no one there to knock the ball in for Rangers.

Celtic's wide men were looking lively and a lovely pass from Jota set up Abada, but Tavernier did well to knock the ball out for a corner.

It was then back to Rangers as Borna Barisic sent in the cross to Roofe. Starfelt was there to head the ball clear before Celtic 'keeper Joe Hart gathered Aribo's rebound.

The Ibrox side were showing no sign of tiredness after their Europa League heroics against Braga on Thursday as John Lundstram was denied by the woodwork. The midfielder's 20-yard strike crashed off the post before Rio Hatate put the ball wide of the post at the other end from Tom Rogic's cross.

Rangers side were forced into a change before the break as Scott Wright came on to replaced injured on-loan midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

Maeda chested the ball down to set up Hatate for Celtic after the break but the midfielder's effort went just past the far post.

At the other end Hart did well to turn Kent's deflected strike away as both sides pushed for a goal at the national stadium.

Celtic finally broke the deadlock in the 64th minute and Taylor was the unlikely source. The defender's deflected shot sailed past McLaughlin from Callum McGregor's pass for his first goal since a Champions League qualifier against Reykjavik in August 2020.

Cameron Carter-Vickers almost doubled the lead minutes later, but his shot from a corner crashed off the crossbar.

Rangers were not done, though, as Arfield made an impression from the bench. Roofe knocked the ball on from Tavernier's cross and the sub made no mistake.

The blue end of Hampden Park was now rocking.

Celtic almost responded immediately but McGregor saw his shot creep past the far post.

Arfield then had the ball in the net for the Ibrox side again but the celebrations were short-lived as it was ruled out for offside.

Steven Davis was next to take a chance for Van Bronckhorst's side but his strike from the edge of the box went well over the bar, and extra-time was calling.

Kyogo raced forward but Calvin Bassey was there to deflect his shot behind for a corner, which Celtic failed to do anything with.

Jota then came agonisingly close to putting Celtic back in in front, his cross-shot creeping just past the post.

A brilliant save from Hart then denied Rangers, the 'keeper parrying Arfield's cross before Fashion Sakala's effort on the rebound looped onto the crossbar.

But Rangers did find the winner as it looked like the game was heading to penalties, Starfelt diverting Sakala's ball into his own net.

What the managers said

Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst was delighted with his players after a big week for the club:

"A lot of character, drive, belief in reaching the cup final and we had to dig deep. We had to change many players, but we did it as a team and we're very proud that we're in the final.

"It's been a terrific week for us, winning against Braga and then winning today to reach the cup final, so the momentum has been perfect.

"We have a lot of games to play in the next few weeks so it gives us a lot of confidence, but you know every game you have to start all over again.

"We're going to use this week to refresh and recover to make sure everybody is ready for the last few weeks of the season."

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou is challenging his players to bounce back from the disappointment to secure the Scottish Premiership title:

"They're never going to be open games as players know what's at stake and know the consequences of their actions.

"We did have an opportunity to go two up, it wasn't taken and they went up the other end and scored.

"There were still moments I thought we could have done a little bit better with, but in the end they took their moment in extra-time and end up winning the game.

"We've had to be resilient all year and this is another challenge for us.

"We are disappointed that we didn't get to another final, we're disappointed for our fans, irrespective of what happened today we've got five games to be champions of this country."