McStay claims two-goal Cadete is one of the best.

The Portuguese man of goals strikes again to break Hearts

Ken Gallacher

13 Jan 1997

Hearts..........1, Celtic.......2

THE Celtic striker, Jorge Cadete, awarded hero status by the Parkhead club's supporters, was given a further accolade after this latest two-goal performance against Hearts at Tynecastle.

It came from his captain, Paul McStay, who pushed the Portuguese striker into a list of the best hit-men he has played with.

In praising Cadete's recent goal run - seven in three games inside a week - McStay pointed out: ``It is a tremendous thing to know that you have someone up front who is able to seize on the slightest chance and put the ball away.

His goals today were typical of the way he can finish and they brought us three more points.

``I put him right up there with the best strikers I have played with, and I have been lucky that I have played with some really excellent front-men here at the club.

``Jorge is there with Charlie Nicholas, Mo Johnston, Frank McAvennie.

They had the same finishing power that he is showing now.

When we had players like that at Celtic, we had success because you always had the feeling that if you got the ball forward, you would get a goal.

``It is the same now.

Jorge has proved himself at the top level, especially with Portugal, and now he is doing it with us and it's a nice feeling to know he is there.'' Cadete was the major difference between the two teams in this, their third meeting of the season.

Twice in the premier division they had drawn and in the Coca-Cola Cup, Hearts won.

This, then, was revenge and it was the Portuguese striker who gained it for the Glasgow club with two instinctive strikes, one in each half of the game.

Jim Jefferies, the Hearts manager, seemed stunned afterwards by the result and by the way his team had lost the goals.

Shaking his head he said: ``We allowed them just three chances, and they took two of them.

``For the second goal I honestly thought that Gilles Rousset was going to get to it first when he came out.

Instead, Cadete was in first and it was his tremendous pace which got him there.

He was onto it like a flash and it just needed that touch over Gilles and into the net for the goal.'' The first goal was just as much the work of a master striker when Cadete volleyed a shot from Simon Donnelly away from Rousset after 27 minutes.

When Jim Hamilton equalised before half-time, Celtic needed that second goal from Cadete to maintain their challenge in for the premier division title.

Later, Celtic manager Tommy Burns emphasised how important that result had been for the club and the support.

``That was a vital result for us today,'' he said.

``I am very, very happy that we achieved that win.

``Maybe it was not the prettiest game, but it took guts and determination and the opportunism of Cadete to give us the three points.

``The players went into the game with the right attitude.

It is tremendous for Jorge Cadete that he is getting these goals, but it also says a lot for the other players that they kept us in the hunt, even though Cadete was out for five weeks and Pierre van Hooydonk was out for about the same period.

``Jorge takes a tremendous percentage of goals from the chances which are created for him and that has been important in the past few games.'' The one problem Celic took away from Tynecastle was the first-half injury to Italian Paolo Di Canio, who limped off, to be replaced by Donnelly.

Di Canio has a badly twisted ankle and was immediately ruled out of tomorrow night's game against Raith Rovers at Stark's Park.

Hearts suffered their first defeat at Celtic's hands this season, and while Jefferies thought that was undeserved, there was little his defence seemed able to do to completely subdue Cadete.

Yes, they marked him tightly for most of the match, and they limited his scoring opportunities - but when the crunch came, the man from Portugal snapped the double that eventually separated the sides.

That was what counted, and Jefferies was forced to seek consolation in the individual performances of two of his players.

He pointed out: ``Jim Hamilton scored another goal and caused Celtic problems, particularly in the first-half.

What he has to do now is learn to pace himself.

``He has been in the first division and has stepped up to the premier, and it's like night and day, but that will come.

``As for David Weir, I thought he was outstanding again, and when the next Scotland squad is named, I think he should be in with a shout.

He showed great class once more against top-quality strikers.'' Next games.

Hearts - Dundee United (h).

Celtic - Raith Rovers (a).

Taken from the Herald