Our ‘On This Day’ feature continues as we take a look at a game which took place on the 28th of March 2004, and saw Celtic go to Ibrox and defeat bitter rivals Rangers 2-1.
The most notable thing about the win was that it came only three days after Celtic’s heroic draw against Barcelona, which 67 Hail Hail recently wrote about and can be read here.
Despite having to play such a draining game only three days before a derby, the Hoops weren’t in the mood for excuses, and set out to win the three points which would all but clinch the title for Martin O’Neill’s side.
Fans threw beach balls onto pitch
The fans dressed in holiday wear at Ibrox for the second season in a row, taking an array of beach balls to the game, as the Hoops support celebrated the win over Barcelona by throwing the balls onto the pitch.
The Hoops took the lead in the first-half, with Henrik Larsson opening the scoring with a trademark header on his last ever visit to Ibrox.
Celtic went two ahead early in the second-half, Stephen Pearson’s shot was saved and Alan Thompson was on hand to rifle the rebound into the back of the net.
Win could have been even more convincing
The Hoops then missed two glorious chances to wrap the game up. Stan Varga hit the bar from a corner from around a yard out, then Larsson was played clean through by Chris Sutton but was denied by Stefan Klos.
Rangers pulled a goal back towards the end of the game thanks to Stephen Thompson but the Hoops held on for the second league win of the season at Ibrox.
The win moved the Hoops 19 points clear of Rangers, and the title was clinched a few weeks later against Kilmarnock.
Celtic played Rangers one more time in season 2003-04, and it was a memorable occasion for one Hoops striker in particular.
However, that is a story for a future ‘on this day’…
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