Martin O’Neill and Danny Löchl remained defiant in their pursuit of the Scottish Premiership title despite both Celtic and Rangers dropping points on Sunday.
The Hoops lost 2-1 to Hibernian, with Kai Andrews’ late winner giving the visitors their first win at Celtic Park for 16 years.
Meanwhile, Rangers drew 2-2 with bottom club Livingston after falling 2-0 down. The game turned in their favor when Cristian Montano was sent off on time and goals from Emmanuel Fernandez and Mikey Moore secured the points.
It comes after Hearts beat Falkirk on Saturday and they now lead the Scottish Premiership table by four points.
Discussing Celtic’s prospects in the title race, O’Neill said: Sky Sports News: “I’m not tired at all. I knew there would be ups and downs this year. It’s unfortunate that we lost a point today, but we’re still fighting.
“Whenever you lose a game you always miss opportunities but there is a lot to play for. We are still fighting for it and the fans have been fantastic.”
Rangers manager Danny Röhl believes the title race will go until the final day.
Röhl also predicted that the race would come down to the final day. sky sports: “We have character and personality, but it was very difficult for us because we gave up two goals. In the end, it was a game I was looking forward to and I had to be there in those two or three moments.”
“We have to get on with it. We still have 10 games left. I said this to the group: We are not happy, but hopefully we can close the gap from four games to one next week.
“We will hunt until the end. The final decision will be on the last fight day. We are ready to do this. Our group is ready to do this.
“They have great faith and although they may be disappointed for a while, it is important to lead by example and I believe we can do that.”
Should Rangers be penalized?
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Andy Halliday uses the advantage of a freeze frame to analyze Mikey Moore’s late challenge and agrees referee Ryan Lee made a huge mistake.
The biggest talking point in Rangers’ draw was Cammy Kerr’s late foul on Moore on the edge of the penalty area. The Livingston man caught the Rangers forward but nothing was given to the referee on the field.
The decision is left to VAR, who must decide whether the foul was inside or outside the area and whether a scoring opportunity was denied (DOGSO).
In the end, it was determined that it was outside of DOGSO territory, so intervention was not possible and the game continued from the beginning. This was a huge frustration for Rangers.
Röhl said it was a decision that could decide the title. sky sports: “I think the biggest question mark was the foul. If it’s outside, it’s a red card, and if it’s inside, it’s a pen. This is something I can’t tolerate today.
“It’s an important moment, a moment where the final action could decide the race, but we also had 90 minutes to make it 3-2.”
While discussing the case, chris boyd said Sky Sports: “There will be Rangers fans who will be very disappointed, but the reality is it is not a penalty.
“The point of contact was clearly outside the box. If he had pulled and continued into the box he would have been penalized, or if he had been on the line he would have been penalized.
“VAR cannot intervene because they decide it is not DOGSO.
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There was a major VAR controversy at Livingston after a late challenge on Mikey Moore was deemed fair rather than a penalty.
“Referees rely on VAR to bail out a lot of the time. It’s clear it’s a foul. We can’t criticize them for not wanting to re-ref the game and then have them re-ref when that happens.
“The laws of the game say you can’t intervene unless you’re inside. VAR did its job. The referee said it was a mistake on the pitch.”
James McFadden He also agreed that it was a concern that the referee did not call a foul on the field, adding: “I think it’s an easy decision for the referee to make.
“It’s a foul at first because Kerr comes from the wrong side and tackles with the wrong foot. I think there’s a block there… I don’t know if he can get a clear shot. The problem is the referee doesn’t give a foul for it.”
Former Livingstone and Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday He said it should be a red card. “It was a foul, no doubt about it. Sometimes we criticize VAR here, but in this case the criticism should come to the referee.
“We’ve seen red cards over the last few weeks with players being brought down on the halfway line. If Moore hasn’t been fouled there, he’s volleying towards goal… I think that’s a red card and a foul.
“It wasn’t a penalty, but Moore just tried to attack and was blocked.”
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Cristian Montano made Livingston’s job more difficult as a bad tackle on Djeidi Gassama duly led to a red card.
‘Celtic in disarray, Rangers must win that game if they want the title’
Boyd was critical of both sides after their respective results. He believes Celtic will survive if they lose to Rangers in the Old Firm next Sunday. sky sports, They are out of title contention.
“If Rangers beat Celtic, I think they are done,” he said. “They are in chaos and there is no way out of it.
“You can close the gap with a last-minute goal and the Celtic fans will love it. You just hear ‘that’s what champions do’, but the reality is you can’t keep limping over the line.
“Martin spoke about this after the (Kilmarnock) game and we knew at the time that this could not continue.”
Callum McGregor reacts after Kai Andrews’ late strike saw Celtic lose 2-1 to Hibernian.
As for Rangers, Boyd said the lack of a recognized number nine continues to plague them and they need to win at places like Livingston if they want trophies.
He added: “Perhaps Rangers would have had a better chance of scoring again if they had scored the first goal a little earlier. They had the ball a lot but didn’t create many clear-cut chances.
“The lack of a natural goalscorer at number nine could come back to haunt Rangers.
“Rangers have now failed to win three away games in a row. The chances were plentiful but Rangers have spent a lot of money since the summer. There has been a huge improvement but to win the title this is the basis on which we need to get three points.
“If Hearts beat Aberdeen on Saturday, they can sit back and watch the game (Old Firm) on Sunday.
“But if Celtic go to Ibrox and win, then the game is on Wednesday and suddenly things change. There is only one winner this weekend and that is Hearts.”
