Sloppy Celtic hand early initiative to Hearts

Match details

Hearts (0) 2 Celtic (0) 1
A fateful Neil Lennon passback four minutes from time gift-wrapped a match-winning goal for Roman Bednar and left Celtic toiling behind Hearts and Rangers after only two games. The club captain, who had been left out of the starting eleven, failed to look up before hoisting the ball back to goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

If he had done so he would have noticed Bednar loitering with intent. As it was, the striker still had a lot to do but displayed great composure to push the ball past Boruc before guiding it home from 12 yards.

That strike provided the home side with a thoroughly merited and morale-boosting victory ahead of Wednesday's Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens.

In contrast, Celtic, whose performance rarely rose above the ordinary, clearly need to strengthen their squad, with bolstering their rearguard the priority.

"If you persist with a passing game then occasionally you're going to get caught," said Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, who admitted it had been a "huge decision" to omit Lennon.

He refused to blame him for the defeat, however.

"That was a blip and I'm not even going to give it a thought," Strachan said. "We gave them a couple of chances and they took them, so well done to them."

The highlight of a mediocre first half was a touchline row between Strachan and Hearts' assistant-manager John McGlynn, which saw both men ordered to the stand.

The opening goal was a result of carelessness by Paul Telfer, who needlessly conceded possession to Neil McCann. He worked it swiftly to Michal Pospisil and the Czech striker's pass released Bednar, his countryman.

Bednar was the essence of composure as he drew Boruc from his goal before sending a low angled drive inside the goalkeeper's left-hand post.

It was a testing period for the champions. Boruc needed two attempts to hold a stinging 25-yard volley from Julien Brellier and then Bednar danced round the Pole before sidefooting home, only for the assistant referee to raise his flag for offside.

With Hearts in the ascendancy, it was indiscipline of the tactical variety that cost them dearly just two minutes later. They committed too many players forward to attack a set-piece and Celtic broke with efficiency.

Kenny Miller audaciously back-heeled the ball into the path of Aiden McGeady, the Irishman supplied Stilian Petrov and he fired first-time past the advancing Craig Gordon from the edge of the penalty area.

The Bulgarian's strike, perhaps his last significant act as a Celtic player before moving to the Premiership, established a parity which Celtic's play had not warranted at that stage. Bednar, though, latched on to Lennon's mistake to settle the issue.

Match details

Hearts (4-4-2): Gordon; Tall (Neilson 27), Pressley, Berra, Wallace; Mikoliunas, Brellier, Aguiar, McCann (Cesnauskis 67); Bednar, Pospisil (Makela 82).
Subs: Banks (g), Beslija, Elliot, Karipidis.
Goals: Bednar (49, 86).
Booked: Brellier.
Celtic (4-4-2): Boruc; Telfer, Caldwell, McManus, Wilson; Nakamura (Pearson 71), Petrov, Jarosik, McGeady; Miller (Lennon 66), Zurawski.
Subs: McGovern (g), Riordan, Sno, Wallace, O'Dea.
Goal: Petrov (64).
Booked: Jarosik, Wilson.
Referee: S Dougal.

Taken from telegraph.co.uk