Celtic secure seven-point lead at top over Glasgow Rangers

Ranks of empty seats testified to the Celtic fans’ dismay at their team’s exit from Europe following their midweek Champions League defeat in Aalborg.

With Glenn Loovens relegated to the bench and Mark Wilson absent, the Celtic manager, Gordon Strachan, gave starts to Paul Hartley and Shaun Maloney, with Barry Robson switched from midfield to left-back.

This turned out to be a weak spot which Caley Thistle exploited whenever Robson was drawn instinctively to his more familiar beat, but they squandered chances, notably when their best move of the game finished with Ian Black shovelling his attempt wildly over the target.

Maloney provided the decisive intervention on the half-hour when he timed his run immaculately to beat the Inverness offside trap, kill Shunsuke Nakamura’s pass on his chest and spin to shoot low beyond Ryan Esson.

That proved to be the only goal of the game and although the home fans were increasingly concerned as the contest wore on with the margin wafer-thin — and Artur Boruc was booked for time wasting — Celtic hung on for what may prove be one of their most important victories of the season.

Rangers’ woes stemmed from neglect of the most basic principles of defence at set-pieces. Twice within four minutes they allowed Christophe Berra — Hearts’ tallest player — to enjoy unopposed headers, in both cases supplied by Bruno Aguiar from free-kicks conceded in the first half.

For Hearts’ first, Berra’s knockdown was parried by Allan McGregor, but Marius Zaliukas pounced on the rebound to score from point-blank range as Majid Bougherra made a fruitless attempt to intervene. Rangers were still stunned by the opener when Hearts struck again, in almost identical fashion.

Bougherra was cautioned for a foul on Andy Driver on the flank and once more Aguiar delivered perfectly for Berra to head down across the goalmouth and once more McGregor got a glove to the ball, but Laryea Kingston — on his return after a long absence through injury — was first to react and head over the line.

Rangers badly needed to score the next goal, but although they did pull one back before the interval, it was Hearts who scored that, too, when Karipidis added to an eventful afternoon when his downward header cannoned off the crossbar and across the line.

However, Rangers could not wring any more reward from the game, even when Lee Wallace was sent off for successive fouls on Chris Burke, both of which prompted cautions, and in the 14 minutes that remained their efforts become as disjointed as they were frantic.

Csaba Laszlo, the Hearts manager, said that his players’ fifth win in succession was a fair return for the application they had put in at training.

He said: “I know at the moment it’s important to collect the points and if you can win against Rangers, especially at home, you must win and you must take the points. At the end of the season we’ll look at which position we are. But if you beat Rangers, you take only three points. If you beat Celtic, you take only three points.”

A disappointed Walter Smith said: “I don’t think Hearts had many attempts at goal or cutting us open but it was more of the set-play aspect that we didn’t handle and it cost us two goals.

“We proceeded to give away too many free-kicks in the first 20-25 minutes. After that, for the last hour, it was played entirely in Hearts’ half, but we weren’t good enough to create opportunities.

“These lapses have caused us problems as much as anything else.”

Taken from telegraph.co.uk