Celtic 2-4 Rangers (1968): The Day Rangers Ended the Unbeaten Run
Celtic 2-4 Rangers was the result at Celtic Park on Saturday 14 September 1968, an Old Firm league match that handed Jock Stein’s reigning Scottish champions their first league defeat in a year. Willie Wallace scored twice for Celtic, on 28 and 66 minutes, but Rangers led throughout: Orjan Persson on 15, Willie Johnston on 17 and 89, and Andy Penman on 65. In our On This Day series it stands out because it ended Celtic’s 34-game unbeaten league run, stretching back to September 1967.
What follows is how the goals arrived at Parkhead, why the result mattered so much in the autumn of 1968, and why it still did not stop Celtic winning the title.
Key Facts
Snapshot of facts before you watch the documentary.
- Played on Saturday 14 September 1968 at Celtic Park (Parkhead), Glasgow, in front of a crowd of about 75,000, as an Old Firm fixture in the 1968-69 Scottish League Division One.
- Rangers won 4-2. Orjan Persson scored on 15 minutes and Willie Johnston on 17; Willie Wallace pulled one back for Celtic on 28; Andy Penman restored the two-goal lead on 65; Wallace struck again on 66; Johnston sealed it on 89.
- It was Celtic’s first league loss in 34 games, a run of results reaching back to 16 September 1967, as the Glasgow Herald noted at the time.
- Celtic were the reigning Scottish champions and, in 1967, had become the first British club to win the European Cup, which is why the loss carried such weight.
- Willie Johnston’s brace was part of a fruitful season at Parkhead for the Rangers winger, who scored eight goals at the ground across the 1968-69 campaign.
- The referee was R.H. Davidson of Airdrie. After full time Jock Stein staged a Celtic youths match to stagger the crowd’s exit and keep the two sets of supporters apart.
Watch the Full Documentary
The Old Firm Derby: A Divided History
The Afternoon Rangers Broke Celtic’s Grip
A Champion Side That Had Stopped Losing
To understand the shock, start with what Celtic had become. Stein’s team had won the European Cup in Lisbon in May 1967, the first British club to lift it, and at home they had simply stopped losing league matches. Their last league defeat before this Saturday had come almost exactly a year earlier, a 1-0 loss at Ibrox on 16 September 1967. In the 34 league games since, they had not been beaten once. Rangers, for all their quality, had spent that year chasing a side that looked untouchable in Scotland.
So the fixture on 14 September 1968 was less a derby than a test of whether anyone could still lay a glove on the champions. Celtic named their Lisbon core: Ronnie Simpson in goal, Billy McNeill at the back, and Jimmy Johnstone, Bobby Lennox and Willie Wallace ahead of them. Rangers, managed by David White, arrived with John Greig driving the side and a front line built for pace, Willie Henderson and Willie Johnston out wide, Persson cutting in from the left. The crowd of about 75,000 packed into Parkhead knew exactly what was at stake.
How Celtic 2-4 Rangers Unfolded at Parkhead
Rangers did not settle for containing the champions, they went for them. Persson opened the scoring on 15 minutes, and barely two minutes later Johnston made it 0-2, a start that silenced the home end and put Celtic in a position they had not been in for a year. Wallace hauled one back on 28 minutes to steady Celtic before half time, and for a spell the game had the feel of a comeback waiting to happen. The champions were level on chances and pressing for the equaliser.
The decisive passage came just after the hour. Penman restored Rangers’ two-goal cushion on 65 minutes, and within sixty seconds Wallace answered again to make it 2-3 with his second of the afternoon. That set up a frantic finish, Celtic throwing bodies forward, until Johnston settled it on 89 minutes with his second goal, the strike that finally killed the comeback and made it Celtic 2-4 Rangers. The Rangers winger had scored twice at the ground where he would take eight goals that season.
| Minute | Scorer | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Orjan Persson | Rangers | 0-1 |
| 17 | Willie Johnston | Rangers | 0-2 |
| 28 | Willie Wallace | Celtic | 1-2 |
| 65 | Andy Penman | Rangers | 1-3 |
| 66 | Willie Wallace | Celtic | 2-3 |
| 89 | Willie Johnston | Rangers | 2-4 |
How the afternoon unfolded:
- 15′ Persson strikes to put Rangers ahead, 0-1.
- 17′ Johnston doubles the lead almost at once, 0-2.
- 28′ Wallace pulls one back for Celtic, 1-2.
- 65′ Penman restores the two-goal cushion, 1-3.
- 66′ Wallace answers within a minute, 2-3.
- 89′ Johnston settles it late for Rangers, 2-4.
Why It Mattered, and Why It Was Not Enough
The reaction told you how rare the result felt. Writing that Monday, the Glasgow Herald framed the win as a jolt to the whole game, declaring it gave Scottish football “new life,” a verdict aimed less at the ninety minutes than at the sense that Celtic’s dominance had made the title race look settled before it began. Beating the reigning Scottish champions at Parkhead was the kind of afternoon Rangers supporters had waited a long season for.
There was a careful footnote to the day away from the football. After the final whistle Stein arranged a Celtic youths match on the pitch and asked the home support to stay and watch, a device to let the Rangers end empty first and keep the two crowds apart. For a fixture with the Old Firm’s history of trouble, it was quietly effective crowd management from the Celtic manager.
And yet the sting for Rangers is that a famous September afternoon settled nothing. Celtic recovered, kept winning, and finished the 1968-69 First Division as champions on 54 points, five clear of Rangers on 49. The team Rangers had just beaten went on to take the title by a comfortable margin, which is the detail that gets lost when the result is retold: it was a genuine result against a great side, and it still left Celtic on top at the end of it.
READ MORE: The Old Firm Derby: A Divided History, the full TFDC film →
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Celtic 2-4 Rangers (1968)
What was the score when Celtic played Rangers on 14 September 1968?
Rangers beat Celtic 4-2 at Celtic Park on 14 September 1968. Orjan Persson and Willie Johnston put Rangers 2-0 up inside 17 minutes, and Willie Wallace scored twice for Celtic, but Andy Penman and a second Johnston goal settled it. It was a Scottish League Division One fixture in the 1968-69 season.
Who scored in Celtic 2-4 Rangers on 14 September 1968?
In Celtic 2-4 Rangers on 14 September 1968, Willie Wallace scored both Celtic goals, on 28 and 66 minutes. Rangers scored through Orjan Persson on 15 minutes, Willie Johnston on 17 and 89, and Andy Penman on 65. Johnston’s two goals made him the difference at Parkhead.
Where was Celtic 2-4 Rangers played in 1968?
Celtic 2-4 Rangers was played at Celtic Park, also known as Parkhead, in Glasgow. The crowd was around 75,000, with Rangers’ own season record giving 75,008. It was an Old Firm league match in the Scottish First Division, refereed by R.H. Davidson of Airdrie.
Why was Celtic 2-4 Rangers such a significant result?
Celtic 2-4 Rangers stopped a Celtic side that had not lost a league game in 34 outings, going back to September 1967. Celtic were the reigning Scottish champions and the first British club to have won the European Cup, in 1967, so beating them at Parkhead was a rare and celebrated result for Rangers. The Glasgow Herald called it a lift for Scottish football at the time.
How long had Celtic gone unbeaten in the league before this defeat?
Celtic had gone 34 league matches unbeaten before losing to Rangers on 14 September 1968. That run stretched back to 16 September 1967, when Rangers had also inflicted Celtic’s previous league defeat, a 1-0 win at Ibrox. The 1968 result therefore ended almost exactly a year of Celtic invincibility in the league.
Did Willie Johnston score twice in Celtic 2-4 Rangers?
Yes. Willie Johnston scored twice for Rangers in Celtic 2-4 Rangers, on 17 and 89 minutes. His early goal helped Rangers race into a 2-0 lead, and his late second finally ended Celtic’s comeback. Johnston went on to score eight goals at Celtic Park across the 1968-69 season.
Who scored Celtic’s goals against Rangers on 14 September 1968?
Willie Wallace scored both of Celtic’s goals against Rangers on 14 September 1968, on 28 and 66 minutes. His first pulled Celtic back to 1-2 before half time, and his second made it 2-3 with just under half an hour to play. Celtic could not find an equaliser, and Rangers won 4-2.
Were Celtic the reigning champions when they lost to Rangers in 1968?
Celtic were the reigning Scottish champions when they lost Celtic 2-4 Rangers on 14 September 1968. They had won the European Cup in 1967 as the first British club to do so, though Manchester United held the trophy by 1968 after winning that year’s final. Celtic’s domestic dominance is what made a home league defeat so notable.
Did Rangers winning at Celtic Park cost Celtic the 1968-69 title?
No. Despite losing Celtic 2-4 Rangers in September 1968, Celtic went on to win the 1968-69 Scottish First Division title. They finished on 54 points, five clear of runners-up Rangers on 49. The famous derby result gave the title race fresh interest without changing its outcome.
Who managed Celtic and Rangers in the 1968 Old Firm match?
Celtic were managed by Jock Stein, the man who had led them to the 1967 European Cup, and Rangers by David White. Stein’s side included Lisbon Lions such as Billy McNeill, Jimmy Johnstone and Bobby Lennox. White’s Rangers, driven by John Greig, produced the 4-2 win at Parkhead.
What did Jock Stein do with the crowd after the match?
After Celtic 2-4 Rangers, Jock Stein arranged a Celtic youths match on the pitch and asked the home supporters to stay behind to watch it. The idea was to let the Rangers end clear the ground first and keep the two sets of fans apart. It was regarded as a successful piece of crowd management for a fixture with a difficult history.
What competition and season was Celtic 2-4 Rangers played in?
Celtic 2-4 Rangers was a Scottish League Division One fixture in the 1968-69 season, the Scottish top flight of the day. It was one of two Old Firm league meetings that campaign. Celtic ended the season as champions, so the derby loss proved a setback rather than a turning point.
Celtic 2-4 Rangers (1968)
A 2-0 hole inside 17 minutes, two Willie Wallace goals to chase it back, and a late Willie Johnston strike to end the comeback: Celtic 2-4 Rangers on 14 September 1968 was the afternoon Rangers finally beat Jock Stein’s Celtic and stopped their unbeaten league run at 34. For more moments that shaped the fixture, keep exploring our On This Day series, and dig into more of football’s fiercest rivalries.
Watch the Full Documentary
The Old Firm Derby: A Divided History