Hartson makes a powerful point in Celtic resurgence

Just 180 seconds out of 10 months is a fragment of time. For Rangers and Celtic, it could prove to be where the ultimate prize was won and lost in their perpetual race. Three little minutes on Boxing Day was all it took for the pendulum in the Scottish Premier League duel to swing back towards the champions. In a campaign where neither side have looked like spilling points, the events of last Thursday carry more weight than in other title battles.

Rangers lost the last unbeaten record in British football this season when Mother- well inflicted defeat in the 23rd fixture. Yet it was not so much what happened at Fir Park that proved significant as what unfolded at Parkhead.

The explosion of noise from 58,000 fans which greeted news of James McFadden's 65th-minute goal for Motherwell 20 miles away was a costly distraction for Martin O'Neill's players. Celtic conceded an equaliser to Hearts less than a minute later. Did Celtic possess an answer, or would they also stumble? The emphatic response came just two minutes later when Alan Thompson dropped a 40-yard pass into the run of John Hartson, whose volley ripped into the net to complete his hat-trick.

The Welshman, with 13 goals in the last nine SPL starts, reflected after the 4-2 victory, which cut the gap on Rangers to a mere point: "It leaves everything wide open." O'Neill was more succinct. "There was little point in someone else doing us a favour if we could not do ourselves one," he said.

With two games to go before the SPL winter break, the jostle for pole position is as much about psychological advantage. There will be 13 games left when Celtic return from Florida and Rangers from Dubai, time, in O'Neill's words, for "plenty of twists".

Yet the balance of power has altered slightly, as has the scrutiny. Rangers no longer go to Kilmarnock today – while Celtic face fourth-placed Dunfermline at home – as invincible leaders. Going to Rugby Park, where they escaped with a 1-1 draw on the opening day of the season, is the last place Alex McLeish would choose to recover.

Indeed, the Rangers manager's reaction to that first defeat suggested his nerves were even more exposed than O'Neill's. McLeish used his Friday press conference to attack referee Willie Young for failing to award a foul in the build-up to McFadden's goal: "There's a lot of hype that the Old Firm get every decision – don't tell me that now."

McLeish chose the wrong week to make that claim. Rangers benefited last Sunday when Partick Thistle's Gerry Britton was wrongly sent off. The red card was rescinded 48 hours later by the Scottish Football Association – the first time this had happened – after referee John Underhill reviewed it on video. But it was too late to alter the game, Ronald de Boer scoring a late winner against Partick's 10 men. Celtic were victims of Young's misjudgement three weeks ago at Kilmarnock when Bobo Balde was not awarded a goal for a header which television showed had crossed the line. O'Neill badgered the referee going up the tunnel, but refused to condemn him in public.

McLeish's remarkable achievement in transforming Rangers in his year in charge has a penalty clause. There were no expectations, now he has created them. "We lost a football match, that's all," he said. "While everyone else outside Ibrox can panic all they like – it seems like mass hysteria – we will not panic in here. This time last season we were 14 points behind Celtic. The aim is to go into the winter break with a lead. If we don't, it doesn't mean we can't win the league."

O'Neill said: "People who say the SPL is a soft touch talk nonsense. It does not just depend on Old Firm games. I'd rather be eight clear than one behind, but I knew it would be tight."