Roman on road to join legends

Hearts 2 Bednar (48, 87)
Celtic 1 Petrov (64)

ROMAN BEDNAR gave only fleeting hints of his capabilities during what was an injury-ravaged first year in Edinburgh, but it was still sufficient for the Hearts support to take him to, well, their Hearts.

If his second season continues in the vein in which it has started, the imposing Czech will be a living legend in Gorgie long before next May arrives.

Yesterday, Bednar tormented Celtic. Glancing headers, a goal with his right foot, one with his left foot, and an all-round terrorising of markers Gary Caldwell and Stephen McManus illustrated him as the man to shoulder Hearts' principle goalscoring duties. For the statisticians out there, four goals in four games is not to be sniffed at.

So whilst Rudi Skacel's departure may still be being mourned in some maroon-tinted quarters, it appears one of the midfielder's compatriots is willing to raise his game to compensate for the loss of 17 goals from last season. Celtic, it has to be said, ably aided Bednar with some less than coherent defending, but that should not detract from a double that would have been a hat-trick but for some officiating which also left a lot to be desired.

Tynecastle took on the guise of an unfamiliar venue for both clubs prior to kick-off, for Hearts had not been seen in action at their spiritual home since the night of Champions League qualification back on May 2. There were pre-match suspicions over surprising changes to the home defence as Robbie Neilson made way for Ibrahim Tall and Lee Wallace replaced Takis Fyssas. Majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov reserves considerable ire for Scotland's refereeing fraternity, but even he wouldn't have had a hand in the other notable change when Stuart Dougal took the place of referee Kenny Clark. Dougal's luminous blue shirt may have appealed to two of the stadium's VIPs, Paul Le Guen and Yves Colleau, who were seeking to kill two birds with one stone and watch both of their principle domestic challengers face off at the same time.

Celtic emerged sporting their new black and green striped away kit as well as a few prominent ex-Hibees in their match squad. For Caldwell, Kenny Miller and substitute Derek Riordan, Tynecastle is never a venue in which to be seen cowering. Only the first two saw some action but Caldwell in particular performed like a shadow of the player who last season captained the Easter Road side.

The game's first notable incident was the 14th-minute booking of Julien Brellier. Aiden McGeady went down under the Frenchman's hard, but fair challenge - the Hearts midfielder even appearing to play a portion of the ball - however Dougal was instantly reaching for his yellow card. As the visiting midfield interchanged positions and passes with one another better than their hosts early on, McGeady was the primary outlet on the left but was dealt with comfortably by the impressive Tall until a tackle from behind by Miller forced the Senegalese off on 27 minutes. From the opposite flank, Bruno Aguiar delivered a curling free-kick which Bednar nodded wide in the 20th minute.

Riordan, always likely to prompt the fiercest torrent of abuse from the Tynecastle stands, appeared for his first trackside warm-up on 23 minutes to a chorus denouncing his facial appearance, and the Celtic support retorted not long after with a chant of their own, which was typically sectarian.

Chances were at a premium but Gordon Strachan's side did fashion one five minutes from the interval when Paul Telfer glided down the right unchallenged and laid the ball into McGeady. The winger's step-over allowed it to run through to Miller 19 yards out and his low, curling effort was on target until halted by Craig Gordon at the second attempt.

Matches between these clubs always ensure every emotion and plenty of adrenalin courses through the blood vessels of those involved, so it wasn't entirely unexpected when the hostilities boiled over. Visiting manager Strachan and coach Garry Pendrey were visibly perturbed when play was halted because Brellier had remained grounded after an apparent elbow by McGeady, and Strachan wasted no time in aiming some verbals at the Hearts bench.

Assistant coach John McGlynn took exception and was soon off his seat offering a pointed finger and a few expletives of his own, which caused him to be ordered to the stand by Dougal after a brief consultation with fourth official Calum Murray. That Strachan was the one who joined him was rather odd given that it was Pendrey who engaged in face-to-face confrontation with McGlynn during the dispute. It wasn't the first time Strachan had questioned the officials, for the first half was heavily punctuated with the fiery Scot's finger-wagging antics. He had asked standside assistant referee Tom Murphy to "just get one decision right" early in the match, but when confronted by the fourth official pretended to be talking to one of his players.

Aguiar broke from midfield down the left three minutes after the restart to ping over an expert cross for Bednar, but from six yards the Czech again glanced wide. He was to wait only seconds to conciliate in combining with his attacking partner Michal Pospisil for the first time in the game.

Pospisil fed Bednar in space in the inside left channel and watched his countryman enter the opposing penalty box and calmly slot the ball low past Artur Boruc from an acute angle. By now, Hearts were well and truly "havin' a party" as their supporters like to put it and Bednar was the MC as he moved another notch nearer that 20-goal target for this season.

He could have secured his second strike in the 62nd minute had offside not been given against him when breaking free to receive Brellier's pass, a decision that was proven conclusively wrong by television evidence. Hearts were made to curse the inaccuracy of far side assistant Gary Cheyne just two minutes later when Miller, McGeady and Stilian Petrov exploited Hearts on the break, the Bulgarian taking McGeady's pass and dispatching it first time beyond a helpless Gordon from the edge of the box.

The equaliser had a reinvigorating effect on Celtic, who had been taken aback by the powerful start made to the second period by their hosts. But Hearts weren't finished. With three minutes remaining, Celtic substitute Neil Lennon played a back-pass to his goalkeeper who couldn't get out of the penalty area in time to clear. The ever-alert Bednar was aware of a chance evolving and stole the ball off toe before homing in and slotting the ball into an empty net at the Gorgie Road end.

There was a late penalty claim by Petrov after tangling with Mikoliunas, and Aguiar rattled a blistering shot off Boruc's bar from fully 30 yards. As expected, the final whistle brought an outpouring of relief, most notably from Hearts coach Valdas Ivanauskas in the technical area. A big day had ended, a big result had been achieved, and a big statement posted concerning Hearts' intentions for this SPL season.

Taken from the Scotsman