Celtic 3 - 0 Hearts

Andreas Hinkel, a player who is unavailable to Gordon Strachan on Wednesday when the Champions League returns, has nonetheless provided Celtic with unconventional cause for optimism against Barcelona.

The German full-back scored the concluding goal of an agreeable win against Hearts on Saturday. It was a welcome end to a harassed afternoon spent chasing after the elusive, but criminally wasteful, Andrew Driver. Hinkel's recent experience of Spanish football, with Sevilla, has equipped him with a knowledge of Frank Rijkaard's side, which he has already imparted to his new colleagues.

With refreshing honesty - which will no doubt be drummed out of him soon enough - Hinkel considered the supposedly lardy figure of Ronaldinho to inhabit "a different body" to the lean, wiry wonder of his prime. Then, in a moment of horticultural expertise, he attributed Celtic's enviable home record in the Champions League - and last-minute winners against Shakhtar Donetsk and AC Milan - to the softer sod prevalent in Scottish football which, he insists, saps the life out of unsuspecting continental opposition.
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If proof were needed, Hinkel suffered first-hand from this lush Parkhead patch on Saturday. In one instance, Driver whizzed past his marker as though Hinkel had happened upon a glue pot on his way back to base. The £1.9m January signing will watch from the stands as his new side host an oddly besieged Barca on Wednesday, but he does not envisage 90 minutes spent peeking through the cracks between his fingers.

"At home, Celtic can beat anyone," Hinkel emphatically said. "I spoke about this to Elvis Steven Pressley and Jan Venngoor of Hesselink and I am convinced a factor in this is that the pitches here are softer and so take up more energy in your legs. I think that is why Celtic have scored late goals against teams who want to play easy, technical football."

That rationale bodes ill for Ronaldinho, a player caricatured in the media for his newly discovered lack of athleticism. "I have seen the pictures and he definitely has a different body from a few years ago," said Hinkel. "It is like he is another player. It is impossible for everybody to play like him but if you can run for 90 minutes, that makes a difference."

Celtic, ironically with the possible exception of Hinkel, have an outfield array at the peak of their fitness. It leaves Strachan with at least one genuine dilemma. Both Vennegoor of Hesselink and, inevitably, Scott McDonald found the net against a teasing but impotent Hearts side but the movement and purpose exhibited by Georgios Samaras in the last 20 minutes offers an appealing option against a Barcelona side not renowned for obduracy.

The Greek has impressed in cameo fashion since his loan arrival and came within a post's width of adding a fourth goal with a sharp turn and thumping left-foot strike. His mobility and stature could prove irresistible in spite of Vennegoor of Hesselink's telling improvement in work rate.

Scott Brown's suspension will result in a recall for Paul Hartley but his omission from starting duty on Saturday caused a gossipy buzz pre-match. Outstanding away to Aberdeen, the logical explanation for Massimo Donati's inclusion is that, at home, Celtic's need for a protective central midfielder is not so pressing. Regardless, the Italian was Celtic's most effective player, spraying possession accurately across the field, tackling decisively and showing none of the concentration lapses that have punctuated his progress so far.

"I thought that he played brilliantly," said Strachan. "He started the season like that and then had a drop in form like the rest of the team. It's easier to give stick to a foreign player though."

In order to quash the manager's theory of xenophobia, an assessment of the comically combustible figure of Brown is required. The midfielder has a sublime natural talent but he is also a galoot. His confrontational style borders on the yobbishness Strachan so despises in everyday life. When channeled positively, Brown's raw enthusiasm and aggression make him unplayable. When it is not, he becomes a cringe-worthy liability. He squared-up to Steven Frail and Audrius Ksanavicius in a manner that, in the real world, could invite a sore face.

Celtic were worthy superiors from the moment, six minutes in, when Shunsuke Nakamura smacked an upright from trademark range. Hearts had their share of possession and chances but profligacy rent them asunder. Aiden McGeady, who at times felt obliged to perform his parlour tricks, delivered an inviting left-foot cross that Vennegoor of Hesselink strained to poke past an indecisive Steve Banks with his right boot.

Andrius Velicka spurned an ideal opportunity to equalise after Driver's drilled shot was palmed into his path by Artur Boruc, but composure deserted the Lithuanian. The visitors soon paid. Nakamura's corner was headed home by the diminutive McDonald in the middle of the goal, with Deividas Cesnauskis his closest companion.

Velicka again failed to find the target when he stealthily evaded Stephen McManus and Boruc was not slow to berate his captain. Judging by Strachan's displeasure, he backed his goalkeeper in this heated on-field debate. All was forgiven when Brown fed Hinkel, who lashed home handsomely from a prohibitive angle.

Taken from the Herald