Gambler Smith finds the right combination
The Scotsman 06/04/1998
Rangers2 McCoist (75), Albertz (88) 
Celtic1 Burley (90)
WALTER Smith threw two dice at Celtic Park yesterday and conjured up a double six that carried his Rangers team all the way to the Tennents Scottish Cup final. 
The Ibrox manager gambled on leaving leading scorer Marco Negri out of his starting line-up, and was astonishingly rewarded by seeing Ally McCoist, the favoured striker, head the goal that began what became a convincing victory. 
With his second roll, Smith introduced Italian defender Lorenzo Amoruso to the fray, despite the fact he has been out of serious football since last season. 
After an early scare, the defender, bought for 4.3 million from Fiorentina, settled into a rugged rhythm that suggested he has been practising in secret. As the game progressed, he certainly showed no sign of weakness or a lack of match practice. 
By the time Jorg Albertz made certain of Rangers' triumph with a second goal near the end, Amoruso had been assimilated into a Rangers side who, despite being clearly second best until the interval, proved once again that they have not lost their resilience. 
Many Old Firm matches are decided by will, especially in crucial areas such as midfield and attack, and, in this respect, Celtic enjoyed an unarguable advantage for the entire first half. 
Indeed, there were lengthy periods when the play then was a reflection of the teams' opening meeting of the season at Ibrox, when Rangers enjoyed such an ascendancy in the middle that it was obvious that Celtic's 5-3-2 formation had allowed the home side to outnumber them in that area. 
In this latest renewal, Rino Gattuso, Stuart McCall and Jonas Thern were mostly crowded out by Craig Burley, Paul Lambert, Simon Donnelly and Phil O'Donnell. 
Both managers betrayed their own fears of the other's possible threats, with Alex Cleland marking Donnelly, thereby denying the Ibrox side a possible extra man to attack on the flanks, and Enrico Annoni, deputising for the injured Stephane Mahe, putting the handcuffs – maybe, in future, that should be leg irons – on Brian Laudrup. 
But Smith's most serious gamble came with the introduction of Amoruso from the bench after only 20 minutes, the Italian replacing Gordan Petric in central defence. 
Smith had assured media men on Thursday – indeed, he volunteered the information -that Amoruso would travel to their Turnberry headquarters merely as a passenger and that he would take no part in the game. 
However, when Petric was forced off injured, the switch was made. Smith may have seen his plans for the Italian as an elaborate deception, but to field a man who had not been involved in competitive football since last season, in a match as rigorous, both physically and mentally, as an Old Firm semi-final, could also be construed as a huge risk. 
The notion that Amoruso would be a little rusty was confirmed within a minute, when Tom Boyd played the ball down Celtic's right and Henrik Larsson breezed past the Italian as though the latter were a statue. But, the powerfully-built defender, thereafter, settled into a performance that justified his manager's gambit. 
It was Larsson, in fact, who was probably most to blame for Celtic's failing to score before the interval. He was sufficiently clever and energetic to reach good positions on several occasions, only to provide poor service for team-mates in menacing positions. 
In addition, the Swede on at least two occasions was given convertible opportunities, only to finish without conviction. His first came when Burley and Harald Brattbakk combined before the former played the ball to Larsson on the left side of the Rangers box, but the drive was feebly struck, straight into the arms of Andy Goram. 
Larsson should also have made his drive count when he received a raking, low centre from Boyd on the right, but he sent the ball against Goram. Boyd himself had earlier volleyed tamely wide when he was afforded an opportunity as the ball, from a long throw from the left, bounced invitingly on to his right foot. 
These and other chances passed up, Celtic began to assume the look of born losers, even if Rangers by the start of the second half had done little to suggest that they would become as formidable as they did. 
But, the authority that Celtic had enjoyed rarely lasts the duration of an Old Firm match and it soon became clear that Burley and Lambert, in particular, were diminished by tiredness. The tired legs of Lambert, who had been exceptional in defensive midfield and in his distribution of the ball, was probably the most crucial of these developments. 
The former Borussia Dortmund player had been suffering from the 'flu virus all week and he seemed to be affected by it in the later stages. Burley still had the energy to score Celtic's goal deep into stoppage time, but by then Rangers had already confirmed their cup final appointment with Hearts at Celtic Park on 16 May. 
McCoist, who had hardly enjoyed a look at the ball in the previous 75 minutes, was given his single opportunity when Albertz broke down the left and delivered such a precise centre that the veteran striker had only to nod to send the ball over the line from inside the six-yard box. 
Albertz himself then struck the second, fatal blow when he carried the ball inside from the right, floated past a couple of opponents and thundered a left-foot drive to the left of Jonathan Gould from around 15 yards. 
Burley's goal would have been among the prettiest of the season had anyone, by that point, still been paying much attention. Certainly, the bulk of the Celtic support, sloping off early, missed it. 
Larsson played Donnelly down the right, the forward skipped past two opponents as he came inside and rolled the ball to Burley, who drilled it low to the right of Goram from 15 yards. Any complaints the Celtic fans may harbour about the result should be addressed to their own team. By failing to beat Rangers when they had the chance, Celtic effectively beat themselves