Cole McKinnon revels in Old Firm derby win as Rangers B edge out Celtic B 1-0 in error-strewn Parkhead clash

Cole McKinnon handed Rangers B their second Old Firm derby success over Celtic B to settle a stuffy clash at rain-sodden Parkhead last night.

The midfielder cushioned a header past the unconvincing Tobi Oluwayemi in the second half as the Gers squad revelled in the celebrations in front of the Celtic supporters.

The Scotland under-19 international told Rangers TV: “It’s the best feeling ever. After beating them at Ibrox and then coming to their own stadium and putting in another good performance was great.

“We didn’t score until late on but the whole team stuck together and the boys were buzzing in the changing room.”

This was the third meeting of the season between the two Colt teams, with Rangers running out 3-1 winners in front of their own fans at Ibrox last month.

Asked if it was difficult to block out the external noise of playing at Celtic Park, McKinnon said: “I think when you first come out for the warm-up you need to try and thrive off the atmosphere a bit.

“If you can take it all in your stride and gain a little bit of confidence from it then that definitely helps.

“You need to try and block out the noise during the game. It’s quite hard to hear it from the stands when you’re playing anyway, so it was about staying focused for the full game.”

Ange Postecoglou and his coaching staff watched on from the stands but on this viewing the Australian will be in no rush to promote any of the club’s youngsters to his first-team squad.

In a game littered with mistakes and lacking in quality, few people would argue a goalless draw would probably have been a fair reflection over the course of 90 minutes.

However, when Celtic keeper Oluwayemi flapped at a corner on 66 minutes, McKinnon reacted swiftly to cushion a header into the bottom corner of the net.

The best chance of a lacklustre first-half fell to Rangers striker Tony Weston who failed to capitalise on a one-on-one with Oluwayemi by lifting the ball over the crossbar.

Karamoko Dembele, who has been on the fringes of Celtic first-team, endured a quiet night as he curled an effort inches wide of the target in the second half.

Lewis Budinauckas produced an excellent save to thwart Rocco Vata but as the clock ticked down, so did the intensity of the game as the visitors stood firm to claim maximum points.

Rangers co-manager David McCallum was proud of the way his side rose to the occasion, admitting: “I thought it was a really mature performance.

“We created a lot of good opportunities in the first-half and pressed them in the right areas of the pitch.

“It was a case of being patient to find a goal. We had to defend a bit deeper at times in the second half but we did that well and I’m delighted we got the result.

“Playing at Ibrox a few weeks ago in front of our supporters helped the lads adjust to that type of environment but today was a different challenge because we didn’t have that support.

“But I thought the dealt with it all brilliantly. We took control of the game and managed to take the sting out of it.”

Celtic boss Tommy McIntyre felt his players could have handled the occasion better, insisting they must learn to adapt quickly.

He admitted: “We’re disappointed but they’ll learn from the experience. The more exposure our players get to playing in a big stadium like this will benefit them.

“At times the speed of the game wasn’t quick enough for us. We should’ve looked to increase the intensity in our play. When we got our best chances, our decision making and final ball was poor.

“I thought we did better in the second half, we got to grips with the game and carved open a few chances but we were too slow in our build up play.”

Celtic B: Oluwayemi, Corr, Anderson (MacKenzie; 53), Otoo, Lawal, Carse, Karamoko, Moffat (Brooks; 69), Kenny (Summers; 69), Wylie, Vata (Dawson; 81)

Unused: Mullen (GK), Letsosa, Dede

Rangers B: Budinauckas, Devine, Fraser, Allen, McClelland, Miller, Ritchie-Hosler (Ure; 65), McKinnon, Weston (Lindsay; 89), McCann, McCausland (Lyall; 83)

Unused: Hogarth (GK), Harkness, Strachan, McInally

Referee: Matthew MacDermid