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| <-Page | <-Team | Sat 04 Nov 2006 Celtic 2 Hearts 1 | Team-> | Page-> |
| <-Srce | <-Type | Herald ------ Report | Type-> | Srce-> |
| Eduard Malofeev | <-auth | Mark Wilson | auth-> | Craig Thomson |
| [J Jarosik 86] ;[Gordon Craig og 94] | ||||
| 13 | of 016 | Andrius Velicka 72 | L SPL | A |
Celtic 2 - 1 HeartsMARK WILSON at Celtic Park November 06 2006 Celtic created their own stadium of light through a short, explosive flash of sheer willpower. The white heat of celebrating a crushing blow in the title race, landed in the most incredible fashion, burned away the chill of their black night against Benfica. Gordon Strachan credited it as a triumph of personality over performance, a desire not to suffer further that left Hearts frazzled. Unquestionably the better team for 85 minutes and laid out with tactical precision, the Tynecastle club suffered the painful indignity of Craig Gordon's extraordinary own goal which created a 13-point disadvantage in the Bank of Scotland Premierleague. Celtic's technical merits were minimal but they broadcast the mentality of champions. Charity was not shown to those needing a glimmer of hope to continue the chase in full heart. No character was tested more than that of Gary Caldwell. The 24-year-old had grossly under-performed in Lisbon last Wednesday, when his errors contributed to two of the three goals scored by Benfica. Strachan, though, hailed Caldwell for pressing into midfield as Celtic sought to cancel out the merited advantage given to Hearts by Andrius Velicka's 73rd minute goal. The centre-back also played a key role in the game's dramatic denouement, determinedly forcing the ball to Stephen McManus for the shot which Gordon eventually flapped into his own net. It was a private moment of redemption amid the public madness of Parkhead. "It's one of the best feelings I have ever had when that goal went in," admitted Caldwell. "It was just a massive relief. "We were poor by our own standards and everyone would probably admit that. But the commitment and the desire was there to see at the end. I think some teams would have taken the equaliser, considering our lead in the SPL, so it was unbelievable to get a winner." Caldwell has had difficult times before in his career but rarely can the spotlight have scrutinised him so closely. He did not attempt to hide from his own responsibility for Celtic's capitulation in Portugal, but was greatly heartened by the strong support of Strachan, who insisted no individual should be held accountable for the team's failure. "The manager has been fantastic with me in the last few days," said Caldwell. "It would maybe have been easy for him to have a go, but he's stood up for me. When you have a manager who does that then it makes it easier. "It was from the lowest low to the highest high. I let people down in Lisbon. I was criticised and rightly so because the mistakes were costly. But you have to get it out of your mind and try to come back and help your team-mates." If there is one man in the Scottish game equipped to sympathise sincerely with Gordon, then it is surely Caldwell. The international colleagues make an unlikely pair of fall guys for the past week, considering their previously exemplary form, and he attempted to exonerate the goalkeeper. "Yeah, I know Craig will be feeling low," said Caldwell. "But I don't think you can blame him. There was a lot of spin on the ball because of the way Mick [McManus] hit it. It's just one of those things. He is a fantastic goalie and he made one unbelievable save from [Shunsuke] Nakamura" Celtic could well have been buried by half-time as the fluid 4-5-1 system set out by Eduard Malofeev, Hearts' interim head coach, allowed the visitors to dominate. Paul Hartley and Bruno Aguiar were outstanding in midfield, but their best first-half opportunities were all Lithuanian. Saulius Mikoliunas saw a low shot blocked by Artur Boruc then, seconds later, Velicka miskicked from six yards after being set up by Deividas Cesnauskis. Velicka, though, put in a sterling shift for Hearts. He twice fired narrowly over the crossbar in the second period before striking what many expected to be the winner. Paul Telfer's pass inside to Neil Lennon lacked accuracy and Aguiar nipped in to pinch possession and prod a pass forward to the striker. Neither Celtic centre-back came out with sufficient speed to close down Velicka and he pushed the ball past McManus before angling a shot across Boruc and into the corner of his net. Malofeev, a voluble presence with a touch of Boris Yeltsin about him, later bemoaned his decision to replace Agiuar with Takis Fyssas, but leaving Marius Zaliukas on the field was perhaps more costly. The Lithuanian had performed well as a holding midfielder until suffering a knee injury that saw him hobble through the latter stages. Strachan threw on Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Jiri Jarosik and Shaun Maloney as he sought to change the match. Jarosik did just that in the 86th minute as he leaned into Nakamura's inviting corner to head an equaliser. Then, in the fourth minute of injury time, Gordon elected to head the ball wide for fear of being punished for handling a backpass after Christophe Berra had intercepted ahead of Kenny Miller. Nakamura again delivered, Caldwell won a melee and McManus swiped a shot that was palmed by Gordon. The ball continued to loop towards his net and, although Robbie Neilson would probably have cleared off the line, the goalkeeper attempted a grab that instead forced it over the line. It was a despairing moment and ensured an Irish-baked bookmaker had to stick by its publicity stunt of paying out on Celtic being champions before Bonfire Night. "From probably going to seven points, we have stretched to a 13 point lead over Hearts," said Caldwell. "It's a huge swing for us, but there is a long way still to go. As long we keep showing that character and commitment, hopefully we'll keep winning games."  Taken from the Herald |
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