Rod Wallace emerged the Rangers hero to deny Jonathan Gould assuming that mantle for Celtic as the title was effectively decided at Parkhead for a second successive season.

After the on and off-field drama of the Championship decider on May 2 the Scottish Premier League opted to move forward the closing Old Firm dates of the campaign to avoid a repeat.

But while there may be 12 games remaining, the reality with Rangers now 12 points ahead is that two months earlier than last year the Ibrox outfit have again all but settled matters on rival soil.

It was a match which had drama throughout but it looked set for a stalemate until a dramatic finale.

Jonathan Gould demanded to be transfer-listed after being left out of Kenny Dalglish's opening game at Dundee, but a change of heart and injury to Dmitri Kharine saw him gain a recall.

He justified that with an 82nd-minute penalty save to deny Jorg Albertz from the spot after Neil McCann had been pulled back by Johan Mjallby who was fortunate to remain on the field.

Gould's save looked to have kept Celtic in the hunt, but it proved only a temporary reprieve as four minutes later Wallace turned the ball into the net for game over in every sense.

Celtic's Mark Viduka went into the game seeking to establish a Scottish Premier League record of scoring in 11 consecutive matches, but it was not to be his or his team's night.

The first and best Celtic chance of the contest fell to the Australian, but from close range the opportunity was missed and it was Rangers who for all Gould's efforts ran out winners.

As anticipated there was to be no dramatic comeback for Henrik Larsson, the Swede still recovering from a broken leg, but Jonathan Gould was given the vote in goal with Dmitri Kharine ruled out for four to six weeks with a knee problem.

A heavy downpour ahead of kick-off made for appalling conditions from the outset with both sides quick to realise slick passing would be a virtual impossibility.

It was the kind of pitch which prompted mistakes and the first of note came on eight minutes when a seemingly harmless Stephane Mahe cross was missed entirely by Craig Moore.

The error stunned Mark Viduka who despite time and space only eight yards from goal struggled to find his bearing and had his eventual shot charged down by Stefan Klos.

It looked a crucial miss the moment it happened and Viduka was again wasteful moments later when he broke clear on the right only to miss both Stilian Petrov and Lubomir Moravcik with his cross.

Morten Wieghorst's searching long pass found Viduka after he eluded Lorenzo Amoruso's attentions, but his compatriot Moore closed him down as he bore on goal and made a fine sliding tackle.

By the half-hour the match was becoming a scrappy affair as Celtic seemed to lose heart at not having capitalised on their initial pressure.

Frustration at the conditions turned nasty ahead of the interval as firstly Arthur Numan was booked for fouling Moravcik, an overdue first caution from Jim McCluskey.

The Slovakian was duly yellow-carded himself minutes later for crashing into Numan and the break came at a time when tempers needed to be quelled.

After 49 minutes, Viduka, keen to make amends, teased the Rangers' backline at the edge of the area before unleashing a fierce effort just wide of the mark as the visitors retreated.

The home team needed more in attack with Mahe's weak angled drive no test for Klos - but after 65 minutes they did have the ball in the back of the net only for the effort to be disallowed.

The crowd were furious, but the decision was clear-cut, Viduka handling the ball in a mid-air leap with Amoruso before running on, the flag up on the right, and firing past Klos.

Celtic continued to press forward aware a draw would do their ambitions little good, Moravcik's swirling corner picking out Riseth's head but Klos made an important low save.

On 71 minutes another talking point as after Claudio Reyna fed Albertz he stumbled under challenge from Stubbs with the German midfielder making muted claims for a penalty.

This prompted a furious reaction from the Celtic defender who screamed his displeasure at Albertz who in turn needed to be led away by his team-mates to avoid a full set-to.

Celtic were committing everything to attack and a Rangers break was inevitable, but what happened next was astonishing as McCann was hauled back by Mjallby in the area in the 83rd minute.

Referee McCluskey's first decision was beyond dispute, a penalty, but his second was more surprising as Mjallby escaped being sent off despite denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Albertz stepped up to take the penalty but with half the crowd turning away in anguish he fired it too close to Gould who saved with his legs to keep Celtic's faint title hopes alive.

Rangers were not to be denied, however, as with Celtic's defence still ragged, Van Bronckhorst found Wallace free on the right and he skipped around Gould.

The 86th-minute finish was a simple tap-in for Wallace and even with 12 games remaining it must effectively seal a Championship race which now looks well and truly run.

Celtic: Gould, Riseth, Boyd, Stubbs, Mjallby (Burchill 85), McNamara, Petrov, Wieghorst, Mahe, Moravcik, Viduka.

Subs Not Used: Kerr, Berkovic, Rafael, Blinker.

Booked: Moravcik, Mjallby.

Rangers: Klos, Moore, Amoruso, Numan, Ferguson, Van Bronckhorst, Wallace, Albertz, Reyna, Vidmar, McCann.

Subs Not Used: Brown, Kanchelskis, Rozental, Nicholson, Kerimoglu.

Booked: Numan.

Goals: Wallace 86.

Att: 59,800

Ref: Jim McCluskey (Scotland).