Sometimes a draw’s a win

By: Ian Rose | March 31st, 2007

That is certainly the case when you are playing the top two teams in Scotland. The Old Firm of Celtic and Rangers are always tough sides to get a result against, but two relative minnows today took a point out of the league’s leaders. Inverness Caley Thistle, my beloved hometown side, drew with Rangers at Ibrox, and Celtic only managed a draw at Dundee United. There has been much made in the Scottish football press about the fact that the 3rd place side, Aberdeen, has never really approached beating Celtic or Rangers this season, and that this fact translates to the gap between the Old Firm and everyone else growing even wider. I disagree. I can go along with the doomsayers that cite Aberdeen’s impotence against the big guys as a sign that a European qualifying bid is a bit wasted on them, but to extend that to saying that the whole league is getting weaker around Celtic and Rangers is wrong. Inverness may have struggled with some of the weaker teams, but we’ve taken seven points from our three matches with Rangers this season (which is more than Celtic can say), and Celtic themselves have slid in the last month, not winning a match since crashing out of the Champions League against Milan on March 7th. A three-game winless streak isn’t news for many teams, but for the side that supposedly completely dominates the SPL, it’s reason to take notice. Celtic is going to win the SPL - there’s no real doubt of that. But I hope the naysayers in the Scottish press that claim the league is losing parity were watching this weekend. It’s still a competitive league where any team (except Dunfermline) can win on any given day.

Other results today:
Falkirk (#7) 2-0 St. Mirren (#11)
Kilmarnock (#6) 1-2 Aberdeen (#3)
Motherwell (#10) 2-0 Dunfermline (#12)