Scottish Premier League/Dundee 2; Celtic 2: Events 90 miles away on Tayside conspired to encourage Rangers to go top of the Scottish Premier League yesterday for the first time in 14 months.
The Ibrox team stepped up a gear after a lacklustre first half when they were fortunate to be on level terms with Hearts as news filtered through of the two points dropped by their title rivals Celtic at Dundee.
Four days after grinding out a Champions League draw with Barcelona in the Nou Camp, Celtic were again forced to share the spoils when Steve Lovell scored in each half to lift Dundee off the bottom rung of the league ladder.
Lovell might have been even more of a hero had he not had a further strike disallowed, a fate which also befell Celtic striker John Hartson. Nonetheless, Dundee will feel well pleased at garnering some tangible reward for all their efforts.
With no hint that Dundee were capable of surprising their opponents, even the home support seemed momentarily taken aback by the turn of events in the 35th minute. Dundee swung quickly from defence into attack and Mark Fotheringham's long diagonal pass found Lovell haring down the right flank. From the tightest of angles, the striker swept the ball into the far corner.
Celtic immediately sought a reprisal, but when Stilian Petrov was released in the 42nd minute the Bulgarian midfielder's effort was blocked by a spectacular one-handed save from Dundee's Derek Soutar.
It was the third such opportunity squandered by Celtic in the first half, after Henri Camara and Hartson had been similarly profligate.
And Celtic's wasteful ways nearly proved even more costly three minutes after the restart when Alex Cerdeira found himself unmarked 25 yards from goal. The venom in his left-foot snap shot was such that had the ball dropped a foot or so lower it would have flown past Magnus Hedman in the Celtic goal.
Stung into action, Celtic stole forward quickly and snatched an equaliser. Petrov and Hartson had a go at converting Stephen Pearson's delivery into the box, before, eventually, the ball fell to the more successful Camara.
And though Dundee hardly deserved to fall behind in the 62nd minute, Hartson tapped in after Aidan McGeady produced an enterprising run and cut-back.
However, Lovell redressed the balance with a cheeky lob in the 76th minute, taking advantage of hesitancy between Hedman and Bobo Balde.
Dundee's manager Jim Duffy felt his side had deserved at least a point. "We played good football and adopted a positive attitude throughout," he said afterwards.
Meanwhile, despite trailing to a Paul Hartley penalty after 16 minutes, Rangers levelled through a Jamie McAllister own-goal just before half-time and were ahead after 56 minutes through Spanish striker Nacho Novo.
Mark de Vries did head an equaliser for Hearts, but Novo nodded Rangers' winner and his 14th of the season off a Stephen Hughes cross with nine minutes to go at Ibrox.
"It has been a great month, in fact a great couple of months," said Rangers manager Alex McLeish. "All the players and staff deserve great credit. We are now top and the players have got to be proud of that and with the respect they have earned in the past few months."
His Celtic counterpart Martin O'Neill endeavoured to put a brave face on the situation, insisting: "It's disappointing, but not desperately so. There is still a long way to go."
DUNDEE: Soutar, McNally, Mann, Smith, Hernandez Santos, Robb, Fotheringham, McDonald, Anderson (Barrett 90), Lovell, Cerdeira (Brady 65). Subs Not Used: Murray, Larsen, Sutton, Jablonski, Caballero. Booked: McNally. Goals: Lovell 35, 76.
CELTIC: Hedman, Agathe, Valgaeren, Balde, McNamara, McGeady, Lennon, Petrov, Pearson, Hartson, Camara. Subs Not Used: Marshall, Sylla, Juninho Paulista, Lambert, Laursen, Wallace, Lawson. Booked: Camara. Goals: Camara 53, Hartson 62.
Referee: C Richmond (Scotland).
