Celts Battlers Pack Punch To Ko Hearts And Stay In Touch

Feb 17 2008 Mark Guidi At Parkhead

Celts Battlers Pack Punch To Ko Hearts And Stay In Touch Celtic 3 Hearts 0

CELTIC heaped pressure on league leaders Rangers by cutting their lead at the top to a point as they romped to a deserved win over Hearts.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink grabbed an early opener before second-half strikes from Scott McDonald and Andreas Hinkel killed off the Jambos.

But as well as some fine skill and excellent entertainment the fans saw a few heated moments as Parkhead passions boiled over.

Celtic skipper Stephen McManus and keeper Artur Boruc squared up after a disagreement in the first half.

And former Hibs star Scott Brown and Hearts coach Stevie Frail then had to be pulled apart as things threatened to turn nasty - but they shook hands at full-time.

Hoops boss Gordon Strachan also wasn't happy with Lee Naylor and words were exchanged.

But he was pleased enough afterwards as his side warmed up for Wednesday's clash with Barcelona by closing in on Rangers, who travel to Kilmarnock today.

Strachan said: "Hearts have been in great formso this was a good win against a good side.

"We knew it was going to be a big day. We could sense the fans also felt that and they gave us a great reception.

"The players responded well and we got off to a fantastic start. We can take pride in our performance - we never held back."

This was a game that left you wanting more and proved the SPL can have its moments.

There was pace and urgency from the off and the action rarely let up.

Celtic threatened after just six minutes when Shunsuke Nakamura's 25-yard free-kick came back off the post after McDonald was brought down by Eggert Jonsson.

And Strachan's side took the lead eight minutes later through Vennegoor of Hesselink. Hearts failed to clear a corner and the ball broke to Aiden McGeady at the edge of the box.

Faced by Andrew Driver, the winger bided his time then floated the ball into the box. The cross was bravely attacked by Vennegoor of Hesselink and he beat Steve Banks to prod home from seven yards.

Hearts, though, were never out of it and McManus had to clear a deflected cross off the line. The Jambos gained more possession and used it well, with Audrius Ksanavicius heavily involved.

And they should have equalised after 32 minutes through Andrius Velicka.

Driver received a pass on the inside of Hinkel - something that happened often - and ran in on Boruc. The Polish keeper parried Driver's shot and Velicka should have done better than hit the side netting from the rebound.

However, credit is due to McManus who slid in to cover the line and could have put doubt in the striker's mind. It was a warning to the Hoops that there was still much work to be done.

As well as attacking with plenty of bodies, Hearts also defended pretty well - although they struggled to contain Nakamura.

The Japanese playmaker had a quiet first half of the season but is in fine form at the moment, combining his talent with a terrific work-rate.

And there appears to be a good partnership in the making between him and Hinkel down the Celtic right.

However, the German was exposed defensively again in 49 minutes when Driver raced away from him and fired in a shot that was comfortably saved by Boruc.

The Hearts winger had three good chances in this game and Celtic punished that miss straight away. Strachan's side ventured up the park and won a corner after Banks parried a Nakamura shot.

The Japanese star swung in the corner and McDonald headed home unmarked from five yards. It was shocking marking but the former Motherwell man didn't care as he celebrated his 24th goal of the season.

Hearts lacked penetration throughout and Jonsson wasted another good chance with a feeble attempt in 58 minutes.

Celtic were much more clinical and made it 3-0 after 75 minutes through Hinkel.

Nakamura played in McGeady and he rolled it to the defender who blasted high into the net fromsix yards for his first goal in the Hoops. Strachan then gave home debuts to three other January signings - Georgios Samaras, Barry Robson and Ben Hutchinson.

And the impressive Greek striker hit a post with a rasping 25-yard shot late on.

Samaras looks to be a top player and it would be a major surprise if a move to bring him to Parkhead on a permanent basis is not underway.

Strachan also would have been pleased with the performance of midfielder Massimo Donati ahead of the Barcelona clash.

The Italian controlled the game with some clever play and could play a vital role with Brown suspended in midweek.

It was a good afternoon for Strachan as his side claimed their fourth straight home clean sheet.

It would be a great achievement if they made it five against Frank Rijkaard's superstars.

REF WATCH

DOUGIE McDONALD left fans baffled as he called several decisions wrong. Lacked authority and decisiveness throughout in a poor performance. Rarely used the advantage rule and must do better in future games. Rating: 4/10.

MATCH STATS

SHOTS ON 7

SHOTS OFF 5

OFFSIDE 1

FOULS 16

CORNERS 9

BOOKINGS 0

SHOTS ON 4

SHOTS OFF 5

OFFSIDE 0

FOULS 11

CORNERS 2

BOOKINGS 0

Taken from the Sunday Mail