Scottish Premier League/ Celtic 0 Rangers 2: Celtic will face a Scottish Football Association inquiry this week after the Rangers full-back Fernando Ricksen needed a stitch in an eye wound caused by a missile thrown from an area housing home fans late in this crucial fixture.

His team-mate Gregory Vignal, who opened the scoring, revealed Ricksen had been hit by a cigarette lighter and that he had handed the offending item to the referee Mike McCurry. The official will now include the matter in his report and that will prompt SFA action.

The Celtic manager Martin O'Neill admitted: "Naturally, you don't want this kind of thing to happen to anyone. It is very disappointing, even more than that, if something was thrown at a player."

His opposite number Alex McLeish added: "That's not something we need in the game. We don't want to make a fuss about it but it's unfortunate it happened."

At first it was assumed it was a coin which caught Ricksen when he went to take a corner, but Vignal said: "It was a cigarette lighter and I handed it to the ref. It was a stupid thing for someone to do." Ricksen, in fact, was pelted by a variety of items during the incident.

Now McCurry's report will land at the SFA Hampden headquarters today and Celtic may well end up being fined and warned to do more to keep their fans in order as a result. The police are also investigating the incident.

Vignal, meanwhile, was involved in the day's other controversy after he pushed a ball-boy as they both went to retrieve the ball for a throw-in, but since the player apologised there is unlikely to be any aftermath. "I didn't mean it because I was just trying to take a quick throw, but I went to him at half-time, shook his hand and said sorry and I apologise again now," said the defender, who is on loan from Liverpool.

"It was my first goal for Rangers so that was a good day for me," he added before revealing that he will be allowed to leave Anfield permanently and that he is "very happy" at Ibrox.

Otherwise this crucial game was a tale of two goalkeepers, with Rangers' Ronald Waterreus outstanding with a series of excellent saves.

At the other end Rab Douglas had the kind of day that may ultimately cost him his Celtic career for fans are notoriously slow to forgive and forget a mistake in a Glasgow derby and his howler handed Rangers the opening goal. Indeed the match turned on a four-minute spell. After 66 minutes of largely mundane football John Hartson found rare time and space only for Waterreus to deny him with a remarkable block.

When play raged to the other end, Vignal's speculative shot should have been routine for Douglas, but the Scotland goalkeeper somehow scooped the ball over his own shoulder and into the net to the absolute delight of the massed ranks of visiting fans behind him to his left.

Nacho Novo's well-taken second after 81 minutes, when he ran on to a Ricksen pass and lobbed the hapless goalkeeper, was the icing on the cake for Rangers.

There were no crumbs of comfort for Douglas or Celtic. Yet the Parkhead team could easily have had this game won by half-time and only fine Waterreus saves from Craig Bellamy, who started well but faded badly on his debut, and Hartson kept the visitors in it.

The second half was markedly different as Rangers passed the ball about well and got their reward.

In a fixture well handled by minister-in-waiting McCurry, Ibrox duo Marvin Andrews and Alan Hutton and Celtic's Bobo Balde were booked but there were none of the nasty undertones of recent encounters on the pitch at least.

Indeed, it was all relatively low key considering its importance. Rangers are now three points ahead of Celtic and have a superior goal difference although the Parkhead team have a game in hand away to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Their win also ended a five-year period of Celtic dominance on their own ground but it was the bigger picture that commanded the after-match interest of the rival managers.

O'Neill insisted: "There are shades of a couple of years ago when one goal eventually separated the teams, although this result gives Rangers the edge at the moment.

"The turning point was the wonderful save from Hartson because after it Rangers went more or less straight up the park and got a poor goal from our point of view."