Gers ousted but gain on Celtic

Published Mar. 25, 2010 12:20 a.m. ET

foxsports

Rangers were eliminated from the Scottish Cup after losing 1-0 at Dundee United on Wednesday, but saw its league title defense boosted by Celtic's 4-0 collapse at St. Mirren.

Rangers' hopes of a treble were ended by David Robertson's 90th-minute goal for Dundee United in their quarterfinal replay.

"We lost the tie in the first game at Ibrox," Rangers manager Walter Smith said. "We were 3-1 up and allowed Dundee Utd to come back into the game."

Rangers won the League Cup earlier this month by beating St. Mirren, which did Smith's side a huge favor Wednesday by clinching its first home victory over Celtic since 1989.

Celtic trails Rangers by 10 points having played two more matches than its crosstown rival and only has eight to go.

Celtic manager Tony Mowbray refused to discuss his future after the 4-0 demolition.

"I don't think I want to get into that tonight. I don't think it's a pertinent question," Mowbray said.

"I left some very young defenders exposed but it was done for the right reasons. You can look as deep into the result as you want, and it's obviously not a great result, but there were positive reasons why it was a negative result."