Hearts finally plant an Old Firm footing

STEPHEN HALLIDAY AT TYNECASTLE

Hearts 2
Stamp (72), McCann (90)
Celtic 1
Larsson (59)

IT is tempting, on the infrequent occasions either half of the Old Firm suffer a domestic defeat, to focus the analysis on the failings of the unexpectedly vanquished Glasgow side.

While the Celtic supporters who sloped out of Tynecastle on Saturday following a loss which may well constitute a fatal blow to their team’s hopes of a third successive championship were undoubtedly indulging in such hyper-critical scrutiny, it would be grossly unfair to strip Hearts of even the merest shred of credit for their first win over the Parkhead club in 13 attempts.

In a memorably enthralling contest, played out in what is undoubtedly the Premier League’s most atmospheric theatre, Craig Levein’s team were undeniably worthy claimants of all three points to place themselves in the box seat for a UEFA Cup place next season.

Hearts achieved the victory with the kind of performance which could well be regarded as a template for others if the duopoly which has placed an iron fist around the summit of our top division is ever to be replaced by something more competitive and less predictable. The 22 points which still separate second-placed Celtic from Hearts in third place illustrate the size of the task facing the teams outwith the Old Firm if this is ever to become a reality. But there is a growing belief, certainly at Tynecastle, that it is not insurmountable.

It was articulated on Saturday by Phil Stamp, the English midfielder who typified the tenacity and tempo of a Hearts’ display which simply never allowed Celtic to impose themselves on their opponents in the manner to which we have become accustomed during Martin O’Neill’s Parkhead reign.

"It wasn’t just that we beat Celtic, it was the way we beat them," observed Stamp. "We thoroughly merited it. We have to look at bridging the gap between ourselves and the Old Firm and the next step is going to Glasgow and winning.

"We are playing well at the moment and there are a lot of good, young players at this club. There is a gap between ourselves and the Old Firm, but we feel we are the closest ones to them and we are definitely getting closer. We are the third-best team in this league, I’ve got no doubt about that."

As O’Neill scoured the debris of this defeat for crumbs of comfort, he offered the opinion that a repeat performance from Hearts would almost certainly cause Rangers similar problems when the league leaders visit Tynecastle on the penultimate Saturday of the championship campaign.

Stamp concurred, adding that he still believes Celtic are a superior outfit to the Ibrox side who are now heavy odds-on favourites to win their first title in three years.

"Rangers have got to come here as well now and they will find it difficult," said Stamp. "We’ve got a little demon off our shoulders now and I don’t see why we can’t do the same to Rangers.

" They are in an ideal position to win the league but we can definitely beat them. I think Celtic are a better side than Rangers."

On Saturday, Hearts were a better side than Celtic for 90 minutes. Their turbo-charged start to the contest, it transpired, was stimulated by Motherwell’s rousing, but fruitless, rattling of Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final earlier in the day.

Levein, who justifiably savoured his maiden victory over one of the Old Firm to the full, revealed: "The lads watched part of the Motherwell game on telly and saw how well they had started and how competitive they had to be to get goals against Rangers. We talked before the game about how important it would be for us to do the same.

"That’s what we did. We got in Celtic’s faces, we made tackles, we harried and chased from first minute to last. I’ve felt silly after games against the Old Firm over the past two years when I’ve said that we are improving and getting better. I’ve been telling the players that and I believed it.

"I thought there was going to be a day when we broke down that mental wall we have had against Celtic, and it was today. All credit to them, I’m so proud of every single one of them for getting over that mental hurdle today."

After a goalless, but thrilling, first half, which saw both teams enjoy prominently threatening periods, Hearts somehow managed to increase the tempo further after the interval only to be denied a deserved breakthrough by Robert Douglas’s fine saves from efforts by Stamp and the excellent Alan Maybury.

It was a hurtful, if somehow predictable blow for the home side when Celtic conjured a lead in 59 minutes.

Didier Agathe and Henrik Larsson, both peripheral figures for most of the contest, combined suddenly and lethally, the former’s surge and cross flicked home by the latter for his 39th goal of the season. What provided Levein with the greatest satisfaction was his team’s refusal to buckle to what most would then regard as inevitable defeat.

Stamp’s equaliser may have carried a touch of good fortune about it, Scott Severin’s mishit shot flying into the path of his midfield partner who diverted it past Douglas, but it was well-earned.

The extraordinary finale to the match was comic-book stuff, full-back Austin McCann rifling a goal of the season contender, his first strike for Hearts, beyond Douglas from 20 yards as the home team counter-attacked through the indefatigable Severin in the third and final minute of added time. It sent three-quarters of Tynecastle into a ferment of celebration and left O’Neill staring into space like a lost soul on the touchline.

"We were never comfortable, even when we were in front," admitted the Celtic manager who now faces surely the most testing week of his tenure to lift a team who appear to be running on empty for Thursday’s UEFA Cup semi-final, second leg against Boavista and next Sunday’s Old Firm showdown at Ibrox.

"It’s out of our hands now," he added. "We still have to go to Ibrox and win but we are running out of games now which is the problem.

"It’s going to be a mighty hard thing for us now to win the league, but I wouldn’t write us off just yet.

"I’m hoping when Monday comes round, we will get ourselves in the right frame of mind and with the right determination to go and give it our very best shot against Boavista."

Referee: J Rowbotham.
Attendance: 15,855

Taken from the Scotsman