Light Blues' midfielder Jamie Ness had fired the home side in to the lead with a thundering drive from the edge of the box in the third minute, but the Parkhead men fought back with a goal from Old Firm debutant Kris Commons.

Steven Whittaker restored Rangers' advantage from the spot after Hoops keeper Fraser Forster had been sent off for bringing down Steven Naismith in the box.

However, even with 10 men, Celtic were the better side and Brown levelled in the 64th minute with a shot from the edge of the box before Naismith, booked in the first half for a foul on Mark Wilson, was sent off for simulation inside the visitors' penalty area.

The Celtic boss described his side's performance as "absolutely brilliant" but had special word of praise for his skipper.

"Scott Brown was immense," said Lennon. "You saw what a captain he can be, he scored a wonderful goal and I couldn't be more pleased for him.

"He is a top player, a big-game player and when has played for me he has been a leader.

"He stood up to all the baiting that was going on, he revels in it, I think he enjoyed the challenge.

"He also enjoys being the leader in the dressing room and he is one of the reasons why the spirit is so good.

"A lot of people don't see what he does off the field, he is a great kid and we think very highly of him."

The replay will take place at Celtic Park on March 2 with the winners drawn away to Inverness in the quarter-finals.

The Glasgow giants, who are also scheduled to meet in the Co-operative Insurance Cup final at Hampden on March 20, will face each other seven times this season but Lennon insists the Old Firm environment is where reputations are made.

He said: "These are the fixtures you want to play in if you are involved in the Old Firm, these are the games that define you.

"And I take a hell of a lot of pleasure by the way my team played yesterday, I was very proud of them.

"They were brave on the ball, brave in the tackle, worked tremendously hard and even when were down to 10 men we were the better team."