Celtic 4 Hearts 0

By Simon Buckland, PA Sport

The swagger returned to John Barnes' Celtic as Hearts found themselves badly outclassed by Old Firm opposition for the second time this season at Parkhead.

After two disappointing performances on Tayside against the Dundee clubs, the Celtic mood seemed flat ahead of the game but to the relief of a near 60,000 crowd they turned on the style today.

Mark Viduka and Henrik Larsson scored a goal apiece in the opening half, each setting up the other, to ease any Celtic tension and set the scene for an Eyal Berkovic takeover.

The Israeli midfielder struck twice in three second-half minutes to leave Hearts on the wrong end of the same 4-0 scoreline they suffered against Rangers at Tynecastle earlier this term.

The Edinburgh outfit's decision to set out their stall in the opening stages was not bought by a Celtic team who oozed confidence from the outset.

Victory by such a resounding margin is a clear sign Barnes' men should have the ability to stay in touch with Scottish Premier League leaders Rangers who have started with five straight wins.

Paul Lambert's knee injury kept him out of the Celtic side and now seems certain to rule him out of Scotland's Euro 2000 Qualifying double header with Bosnia and Estonia.

That meant Johan Mjallby and Craig Burley anchored the midfield with no place for Stilian Petrov, while Jackie McNamara made his first start of the season for the suspended Vidar Riseth.

Hearts surprisingly left out Stephane Adam opting to move Darren Jackson upfield in a defensive-minded line-up which was soon under sustained pressure.

Lubomir Moravcik's threaded pass to Viduka was weighted to allow the Australian striker time to steady himself, but he still shot straight against the legs of Gilles Rousset.

Celtic enjoyed a succession of corner as every time the ball was cleared by Hearts it came straight back to them and the goal, when it came, had a sense of inevitability.

Larsson turned youngster Grant Murray expertly and measured a precise cross for Viduka to power a header into the top right-hand corner of the net from close range.

Celtic could not afford to be complacent however, as Olivier Tebily was in attempting to usher a long ball into touch for a goal kick after 26 minutes.

Gary McSwegan, introduced into the Scotland squad this week, seized possession and delicately chipped Jonathan Gould only to see his effort bounce wide.

Encouraged Hearts pressed forward again and Colin Cameron's pass set up McSwegan for another shooting chance only for the striker to drag his strike across the face of goal.

It proved costly as after 37 minutes Celtic were two ahead, Viduka returning the favour by outsmarting Gary Naysmith and playing in Larsson to roll the ball under Rousset.

Celtic might easily have gone three ahead before the break, twice Moravcik header found Stubbs, the first saved by Rousset the second blocked by Jackson on the line.

Celtic claimed their former player used a hand to make the clearance but nothing was awarded, while moments later there was no reward for a Berkovic run as he shot over the bar.

Hearts manager Jim Jefferies made a double change at the break removing both Gary Locke and Grant Murray who had struggled with man-to-man marking roles to bring on Adam and Jose Quitongo.

It made little immediate difference as straight from the restart a Viduka cross picked out Burley but the former Chelsea midfielder was leaning backwards and his header drifted wide.

A Steven Pressley error set up Larsson for a run at goal, but while his pace took him clear he was stopped in his tracks by the bravery of Rousset who saved well.

Celtic moved three ahead after 70 minutes when Mahe's persistence on the left earned him the opportunity to cross low for an unmarked Berkovic to slide in.

A mere two minutes later the Scottish record signing made it 4-0 with a rare header after Viduka's cross took a slight deflection and fell kindly for Berkovic in front of goal.

His and Celtic's job done Berkovic was swiftly replaced by Bobby Petta while Barnes also opted to replace Viduka with Scotland Under-21 international Mark Burchill. It was game over.

Teams

Celtic: Gould, Mahe, McNamara, Stubbs, Larsson, Burley, Berkovic (Petta 74), Tebily, Moravcik (Blinker 79), Mjallby, Viduka (Burchill 74).

Subs Not Used: Kharine, Healy.

Booked: Mahe.

Goals: Viduka 17, Larsson 36, Berkovic 70, 72.

Hearts: Rousset, Pressley, Naysmith, Locke (Quitongo 45), Ritchie, McSwegan, Cameron, Jackson, Murray (Adam 45), Flogel (Fulton 87), Severin.

Subs Not Used: James, McKenzie.

Booked: Flogel, Locke, Pressley, Quitongo.

Att: 59,607

Ref: Jim McCluskey (Scotland).


Taken from sportinglife.com