The Bhoys Stumble In The First Old Firm Derby

Celtic 2 Rangers 4

By Tony Quinn

A dour second half performance form Celtic allowed Rangers back to the top of the SPL in a game that saw a double from former Bhoy Kenny Miller help secure a 4-2 win at Parkhead.

Both teams finished with ten-men with Daniel Cousin and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink seeing red in the second-half. The teams had gone in level at half-time after a solo effort from Daniel Cousin was cancelled out by Georgios Samaras. But Miller scored twice either side of a Pedro Mendes strike from 30 yards out before Shunsuke Nakamura scored a consolation goal in injury time.

After the game Gordon Strachan blamed 'individual mistakes'. "The passing of the ball was half-decent by both sides but it's all about brilliance, which is what Mendes did," Strachan said. "They had a bit of brilliance and we had two individual mistakes." Strachan had no complaints about Dougie McDonald after the referee sent off Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. "I thought the referee had a good game," Strachan said.

Former Celtic captain Neil Lennon was assaulted in Glasgow following the game against Rangers. The 37-year-old, who is now a coach at the club, suffered minor injuries and has been treated in hospital. A spokesperson for Celtic said: "We can confirm that while walking home alone last night, Neil Lennon was the victim of a serious assault by two men. The assault came after Neil was subjected to sectarian abuse. It is understood that during the course of the attack Neil lost consciousness. He was then taken by ambulance to hospital where his injuries were treated and he was later released. Strathclyde Police are carrying out an investigation into the assault, and clearly Neil will be fully co-operating with this."

Hibs have announced the signing of Derek Riordan on a three-year contract. Hibs won the race with Edinburgh rivals Hearts for Riordan's signature after both clubs expressed an interest in the player. Riordan had previously spent six years at Hibs. Hibs sold him to Celtic for £170,000 in June 2006 after he signed a pre-contract agreement. But Riordan failed to earn a regular first-team place and publicly vented his frustration earlier this year.

Germany coach Joachim Low has called up Andreas Hinkel to his squad to face Liechtenstein and Finland in upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Loew is without veteran midfielders Torsten Frings and Michael Ballack and so Hinkel gets a chance three years on from his last call-up. He won the last of his 17 caps in September 2005 in a defeat to Slovakia. "Andreas is a regular at Celtic and has been playing well there recently," said Loew of the 26-year-old Hinkel, who previously played for Stuttgart and Spanish side Sevilla. He made his Germany debut in 2003.

Former Celtic defender Steven Pressley has joined Danish outfit Randers FC after being released by the Hoops this summer. The 34-year-old, who was released by the Scottish champions in the summer, has signed a contract until the Danish winter break. He said: "The prospect of playing abroad excited me and it's an ideal situation for both parties." Pressley is also part of Scotland manager George Burley's backroom staff but was keen to continue his playing career.

Scott McDonald is in serious doubt for the World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan after being told to skip Australia's training camp in The Netherlands. The Celt failed a late fitness test on his injured groin ahead of Sunday's derby against Rangers. He will also miss the friendly against the Netherlands, and continues to be touch and go for the Uzbekistan game in Tashkent.

Injury has also dealt a blow to Chris Killen and the All Whites of New Zealand World Cup qualifying plans, with the Celtic striker an 11th hour withdrawal from crucial home and away qualifiers against New Caledonia. Following advice from the club's medical staff, Killen - who missed New Zealand's World Cup qualifiers against Vanuatu last November with an Achilles strain - will require surgery to remove floating bone fragments from his knee.