Celtic capture SPL crown

Celtic claimed their third successive Scottish Premier League title after they defeated Dundee United 1-0 and Old Firm rivals Rangers lost 2-0 to Aberdeen. For Rangers it is a bitter end to a campaign which had promised so much right until the very end. Counting all competitions, it was Rangers’ 67th match of the season and they must now try and regroup for one final effort in the Scottish Cup final against Queen of the South. They will be hoping to add the Scottish Cup to the CIS Cup they won earlier this season.

For Celtic the win will bring a bit of comfort just two days after the funeral of Tommy Burns, their assistant manager and head of youth development. It puts a positive ending on a roller-coaster season that saw them lead the SPL for the early part of the season, only to slip and see themselves 7 points behind Rangers with seven weeks of the season left. Celtic made an amazing turnaround that included two Old Firm victories. Combined with Rangers run in the UEFA Cup, which caused a fixture congestion and subsequent dropping of points, it allowed them to overhaul their rivals and claim their 42nd SPL title. Rangers still maintain the all-time lead with 51 SPL crowns, including 8 straight between 1990-1997.