Martin O’Neill makes case for defence as Celtic clinch ‘great win’ over Rangers

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill hailed his understrength side’s defensive display after they knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup despite failing to register a shot on goal.

Tomas Cvancara sealed a 4-2 penalty shootout win after a goalless 120 minutes of quarter-final action at Ibrox.

Rangers managed 24 shots but Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo had few saves to make, although several last-ditch blocks from the likes of Auston Trusty and Sebastian Tounekti kept the score level.

Celtic progressed despite missing both Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney through injuries which flared up in the midweek win over Aberdeen.

“It was a great, great win for us,” O’Neill said. “We were under pressure during the course of the game. As you would expect, Rangers are very strong. They’ve had the full week to go at it.

“We’ve had to travel to Aberdeen, it was our fourth away game in 10 days. It was a fantastic effort by the players. Really, really fantastic.

“The number of blocks that we got in, the number of last-ditch challenges that we made in the game, just to stay in the tie, it was really amazing.”

O’Neill felt it was a big achievement to win after losing two key players. McGregor missed a spell of action with a heel injury two years ago and could need to be managed again.

“Callum was feeling it in Aberdeen,” he said. “The medical team were saying it’s something that was here last year, maybe come back, and maybe missed a few games. So the best thing to do was just to take him out of it.

“Kieran Tierney was just not right to start. He might have been able to have come on but he might have been forced to go on after five minutes in the match and then he wouldn’t have lasted.

“So for us to miss two big players like that there and still come through, it was brilliant.”

O’Neill also praised Sinisalo, saying: “I just asked him, could he command the six-yard box? And he did that wonderfully well.”

Rangers head coach Danny Rohl dismissed questions about the mentality of his side, who surrendered a two-goal lead to draw with Celtic seven days earlier.

Rohl said: “I see 120 minutes, just one team who deserve to win. It’s not about mentality.

(“It’s about) the final details because, when you don’t have the mentality or personality, then you will have not reacted like we did.

“There’s no question mark when I see my group, what they did during the week, how we lift each other, how we prepared it, how focused we are, what we can do, and you deliver such a performance in 120 minutes.

“Then in football, you need a little bit of luck on your side to score in the right moments.

“I’m convinced if you work so hard and you improve so massively, this momentum will come back and then let’s see where we are in the next couple of weeks.”