Celtic 1-1 Hearts

A late Stephen McManus header gave Celtic a share of the spoils against Hearts at Parkhead and maintained the champions' four-point lead over rivals Rangers at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

A fine Andrew Driver goal after 23 minutes put the visitors ahead with only a great save from Artur Boruc before the break preventing him getting a second.

But Celtic came back strongly in the second half with McManus in the right place in the 78th minute when substitute Georgios Samaras, on for Shaun Maloney, headed back Shunsuke Nakamura's cross to set up an easy chance for the Parkhead skipper to draw the home side level.

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan brought back Scott McDonald at the expense of Samaras.

McDonald was on the bench for the 2-0 Champions League win over Villarreal on Wednesday, but led the line for the Hoops, who were boosted before the game by the news that Rangers had only drawn at Dundee United.

Hearts boss Csaba Laszlo lost left-back Lee Wallace to suspension, his place taken by Eggert Jonsson.

Keeper Janos Balogh returned in goal for Jamie McDonald, who dropped to the bench.

The Parkhead fans, buoyed by the news from Tannadice, sensed a good opportunity to go six points clear at the top of the SPL.

Hearts, however, were as confident as they could have been having won their last five league games since losing to the champions at Tynecastle.

Jambos defender Robbie Neilson showed his determination as he picked up a booking within a minute for a foul on Hoops left-back Mark Wilson, a reckless challenge which preceded a scrappy opening in which neither side could find a way through the respective defences.

The first effort on goal came in the 18th minute, when Marius Zaliukas picked the ball up 30 yards from goal and sent a powerful drive just wide of Celtic keeper Boruc's right-hand post.

In the 23rd minute, the home crowd were shocked when the visitors took the lead through the impressive Driver.

Midfielder Laryea Kingston produced a couple a pieces of magic on the right before sending in a shot of sorts which landed at the feet of Driver, all alone on the far side and he controlled the ball before knocking past Boruc from 10 yards out.

Driver, who was causing havoc down the left, should have grabbed his second before the interval.

In the 36th minute, he raced clear of the static Celtic defence and into the box only to see his angled-drive brilliantly saved by Boruc.

Celtic completed the first half without troubling the Hearts goal, something which did not go unnoticed by their increasingly-impatient fans.

The home side, as expected, pushed forward with more purpose and determination after the interval, but Hearts simply dropped deeper and defended with some assurance.

Driver was still finding space down the left-hand side, with several earlier runs suggesting there was more trouble to come from the Englishman if he was not stopped.

The tension was slowly increasing inside Celtic Park as Hearts remained comfortable in defence and dangerous on the break.

The visitors forced a couple of corners in quick succession, the second seeing Boruc flapping at Aguiar's cross before Hinkel took a volley from Christos Karipidis flush on the face as the home side defended desperately.

Celtic's pressure increased but still they could not find a way through the Hearts defence, which became more desperate as the game wore on.

As the hosts continued to drive forward, a last-gasp tackle by Neilson eight yards out prevented Samaras getting his shot away.

However, the visitors simply could not contain the sheer pressure, and in the 78th minute Celtic eventually drew level.

Midfielder Nakamura's whipped-in cross from the right was headed back by Samaras, allowing skipper McManus to head in from close range.

The home crowd roared Celtic on in the closing stages but they could not find that elusive winner despite Hearts wobbling all the way to the final whistle.