Hearts get timing right down to the second

HEARTS 3
CELTIC 0

HEARTS' first victory over Celtic this season could hardly have been better timed. The result came when they needed it most, as Rangers had closed to within a point of them a day earlier, and when Celtic needed it least, having wrapped up the title on the last occasion the clubs met.

The three points mean that the Scottish Cup finalists will now make sure of second place, and the small matter of the Champions League spot which goes with it, if they win at home to Aberdeen on Wednesday night. The issue could be settled a day earlier, if Hibs beat Rangers, but no-one at Tynecastle is looking for a favour from their city rivals. They have got this far on their own efforts, and will gladly take the last few steps unaided as well.

They certainly received no assistance from their opponents yesterday. Celtic may have lacked the cutting edge of their best performances, but they could have scored before and soon after Hearts' early double, and were still plugging away in the final minutes, when Stilian Petrov brought out an exceptional save from Craig Gordon in the Hearts goal.

The fact that the Bulgarian midfielder had come off the bench, as had John Hartson and Stephen Pearson, was testament to Celtic's intent on getting something from the game. Pearson had been introduced as a substitute early in the second half in the New Year's Day meeting between the clubs, and had scored the goal which began the fightback from 2-0 down to the eventual 3-2 victory. His introduction here, however, came after Hearts had scored that vital third goal, and his part in proceedings was, therefore, never going to be more than marginal.

That third goal was begun and ended by Paul Hartley, who had already got on the scoresheet himself as well as creating the opener. The Scotland midfielder broke up a Celtic attack with a simple header, then passed to Bruno Aguiar, who fed Deividas Cesnauskis on the right flank. The winger advanced towards halfway before squaring to Hartley, whose through ball to Roman Bednar just beat the offside flag. The big Czech closed calmly down on Artur Boruc before slotting the ball low to the goalkeeper's left and into the net.

It was the manner in which Hearts achieved that three-goal advantage as much as the scoreline itself that must have made Celtic realise there was no way back, for the home side played with a poise and a collective self-discipline which had been missing on 1 January.

Then, as yesterday, Hearts began by playing with irresistible brio, but the adrenalin soon got to them and once they had been pegged back to 2-1 their self-belief visibly drained away. Now, under Valdas Ivanauskas, they are tougher, more focused and a lot more positive than they were under Graham Rix, whose cautiousness and insecurity arguably cost them the title.

That debate, however, is for another time. Hearts know the prizes still on offer to them this season are well worth the winning, and Ivanauskas believes they have returned to their best form at the right time. "A good result, yes, three points, yes, but the performance today was the best this season," the interim manager said. "The players concentrated very well, and I'm happy with their discipline and energy."

Those virtues would have been tested, all the same, had Stephen McManus given Celtic the lead in the opening minutes after finding himself unmarked in the Hearts box. Gordon saved his shot, however, and within minutes the centre-back was on the scoresheet at the wrong end, redirecting a curling free-kick from Hartley straight into his own net.

Three minutes later Celtic were two down, this time after Hartley scored direct from an award given for a foul by Stan Varga on Bednar. Having been given permission to proceed, Hartley took advantage of Celtic's disorganisation to score to Boruc's left.

A low drive from Rudi Skacel came close to making it 3-0 but rebounded off the Pole's right post, and the excitement died away for a while after that until shortly before the break. It was then that Roy Keane found himself through on Gordon after a Shunsuke Nakamura cross was nudged on by Pressley, but the former Manchester United player failed to make a clean contact and the goalkeeper collected comfortably.

Hearts themselves were not yet comfortable at that stage, but they were after Bednar's goal, and some time before the end everyone in the ground had accepted the outcome. That was shown when both sets of supporters, who had exchanged bilious chants for much of the afternoon, united in a cordial chorus of "Let's all laugh at Rangers".

There is still a chance that the Ibrox side will have the last laugh, but if Hearts play as well as this on Wednesday they will become runners-up with a game to spare, and even Ivanauskas may then permit himself a wry chuckle.

Taken from the Scotsman