Tynecastle defeat for Celtic

Scottish Premierleague
Sunday April 30 2006
Tynecastle, Edinburgh

HEARTS… 3
(McManus o.g. 7, Hartley 10, Bednar 63)
CELTIC… 0

WITH this season’s battle for the title already over, Celtic lost the final skirmish between Scotland’s leading championship contenders, falling 3-0 to Hearts at Tynecastle.

A Stephen McManus own goal, a strike from Paul Hartley and a third from Roman Bednar handed Hearts the win and edged them a step closer to claiming the second available space in the Champions League.

Celtic actually had an early opportunity to take the lead in this match when a free-kick, dropped deep to the back post by Shunsuke Nakamura, was headed back into the danger area by Stan Varga and cut in to the feet of Stephen McManus with the neatest of passes by Dion Dublin.

The big centre half scored twice against Hearts in that vital New Year victory for Celtic and looked a cert to convert from some seven yards out with space and time to shoot.

But this time his shot on the turn produced an outstanding save from Craig Gordon and minutes later McManus succeeded in putting the ball past his own goalkeeper at the opposite end of the park.

The big defender jumped in an attempt to clear a Paul Hartley free kick from the left but could only lift the ball up and over Artur Boruc and into the back of his own net to hand Hearts the early lead.

This surprise opener was followed by an even more shocking second goal for Hearts after Stan Varga gave away a free kick on the edge of the area.

It was a controversial strike to say the least, with Paul Hartley having been given the nod by referee Alan Freeland to take the set piece early and while the Celtic players gathered in a wall, the Hearts midfielder lifted his shot up and over the pack and past the stunned Artur Boruc.

The home crowd were now behind their team and every Hearts break was met by a roar of anticipation and in the 14th minute Rudi Skacel jinked into the box, beyond Roy Keane and Paul Telfer and powered in a shot that rattled back off the post.

More chances followed for Hearts, with Boruc coming out early to deny Skacel after the Czech had been put through by his compatriot Roman Bednar and Celtic’s only other chance in the half fell for Roy Keane some three yards out.

But the ball arrived too quickly for the Irishman and he could only send a tame shot straight at Craig Gordon and another good chance went begging for Celtic.

As the half drew to a close, Jankauskas had another opportunity at the near post after a cross from Skacel on the left and the home side finished the half in the ascendancy and perhaps unfortunate not to have extended their lead.

In the second half the home side succeeded in maintaining their impressive work rate, harrying and hassling their opponents at every turn.

But it was actually Celtic who enjoyed the first clear opportunity four minutes after the restart, when Maciej Zurawski robbed Ibrahim Tall of the ball, broke through on goal and forced another outstanding save from Gordon.

But Hearts’ response was immediate and McManus did well to slide-in and rob Jankauskas of possession after a Skacel pass had again put him through on goal.

Then followed a rather bizarre incident with referee Freeland booking Neil Lennon for reacting to a late challenge by Skacel before calling back play to give the home team a free-kick on the edge of the area.

In the wake of this decision Stephen McManus was booked and the decision seemed to give Celtic some added motivation as they pushed forward.

But then a sudden break by Hearts and a controversial decision by the linesman allowed Roman Bednar to add a third.

Stan Varga was sucked out of position as Celtic backtracked, leaving Bednar to make his run in from the right and with the linesman’s flag staying down, the Hearts striker kept his composure and placed a perfect shot beyond Boruc.

With the home side’s three goal lead now secure, Hearts finally took their foot off the gas and aside from two quick breaks with just minutes remaining, they were understandably content to keep possession.

Celtic for their part had failed to test Craig Gordon after his early save in the half and had only fired in two decent shots from substitutes Stilian Petrov and John Hartson.

But with three minutes remaining there was another chance for Craig Gordon to produce a spectacular save, this time denying Petrov after the midfielder broke into the box.

With the championship sealed and a handful of matches remaining in this long and tiring campaign, the Celtic players perhaps lacked sufficient motivation and the energy required to beat a Hearts side chasing a place in the Champions League.

And as the players left the field to the applause of both sets of supporters the Celtic end perhaps cheered in the knowledge that although this battle was lost, the war between these sides was ultimately won in Glasgow with the clinching of the SPL title.

HEARTS (4-4-2) Gordon; Neilson, Tall (Berra 80), Pressley, Fyssas; Cesnauskis (Barasa 83), Aguiar, Hartley, Skacel; Jankauskas, Bednar (Pospisil 75).
Subs: Banks, Wallace, Brellier, Driver.
CELTIC (4-4-2) Boruc; Telfer, Varga, McManus, Wilson; Nakamura, Keane, Lennon (Petrov 68), Maloney; Dublin (Hartson 73), Zurawski (Pearson 69).
Subs: Marshall, Thomson, McGeady, Wallace.