RANGERS have booked a place at next month’s Scottish Cup final following a phenomenal 2-1 extra-time victory over the other half of the Old Firm at Hampden this afternoon.
After falling behind to a Greg Taylor strike, Scott Arfield levelled matters 12 minutes from time before Fashion Jr won it four minutes before the end of extra time.
After 30 added minutes on Thursday night in the Europa League victory over Braga, this was a superhuman effort from the Light Blues to get over the line and reach the national showpiece on May 21 against Hearts.
Manager Gio van Bronckhorst named one change to his side for this afternoon’s Old Firm Scottish Cup semi-final here at the National Stadium.
From the team which so famously came through 3-1 on Thursday, Jon McLaughlin played in place of Allan McGregor in goal.
That meant it was a back five of McLaughlin between the sticks and captain James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Calvin Bassey and Borna Barisic in front of him.
Ryan Jack and John Lundstram had Joe Aribo alongside them in the middle of the park, while up front, Aaron Ramsey and Ryan Kent supported Kemar Roofe.
It was Gers who fashioned the first chance of the game inside two minutes. Lundstram did superbly to win the ball back in midfield to get forward for Ramsey. He spread the play wide into the left of the box for Kent who fired over with hooped jerseys closing on him.
Seconds later, a Tavernier delivery into the box was met by Aribo, but with the ball ever so slightly too high, he headed over, before Roofe had a fearsome drive from 25-yards slip just wide.
There was no doubt it was Rangers who were on top in the opening stages – and Ramsey was next to try his luck with a free-kick that only just went over.
Carl Starfelt cleared a Roofe header off the line into the path of Aribo, with his header held by Joe Hart, before on 41 minutes, Lundstram hit the post with a super effort from 25-yards.
There was time for one more effort before the break for Gers – Aribo heading wide on the end of a Scott Wright corner, with Wright having come on for the injured Ramsey.
Into the second half, and again, it was Rangers on top. Kent had an effort slip just wide on 55 minutes before, against the run of play on 64 minutes, Celtic took the lead.
A free-kick dropped for Greg Taylor on the edge of the box, and with the aid of a deflection, the ball was carried past McLaughlin and into the back of the net.
Starfelt hit the bar from a corner as Celtic looked for a second, while Lundstram had another effort from distance which went over the bar this time.
The 75th minute saw van Bronckhorst replace Jack and Aribo with Steven Davis and Scott Arfield, and four minutes later, that man Arfield had quite the impact.
From the right, Tavernier’s delivery met Roofe, and he flicked it on for Arfield to curl a super effort beyond Hart and into the back of the net.
Davis had a chance on the half-volley from inside the ‘D’ that cleared the crossbar towards the end, but extra-time was called for with the two sides unable to be separated.
The first half passed without much action, but into the second half, and the post and then a combination of the bar and Hart denied Tavernier and sub Fashion Jr after an Arfield ball caused havoc in the Celtic box.
Then, with four minutes of extra time to play, stunningly, Rangers hit the front. A brilliant move involving Bassey and Kent down the left ended with Bassey delivering and Fashion Jr scooping the ball into the back of the net from inside the six-yard box.
Four minutes of added time at the end of extra-time followed – but Gers held firm to reach the final and spark wild celebrations at the Rangers end of Hampden Park.
RANGERS: McLaughlin, Tavernier, Goldson, Bassey, Barisic (Balogun, 109), Jack (Davis, 75), Lundstram (Kamara, 102), Aribo (Arfield, 75), Ramsey (Wright, 43), Kent, Roofe (Fashion Jr, 109).
SUBS NOT USED: McGregor, Amad, Sands, King, Lowry.
CELTIC: Hart, Taylor (Welsh, 91), Starfelt, Abada (O’Riley, 56), Jota, Rogic (Furuhashi, 56), Carter-Vickers, Maeda (Forrest, 91), Hatate (Turnbull, 109), McGregor, Juranovic (Ralston, 67).
SUBS NOT USED: Bain, Jullien, McCarthy, Johnston, Ideguchi.
REFEREE: Bobby Madden