Celtic 1 Hearts 1

JOHN HARTSON is convinced he has to be left out because of a lack of focus.

Even his former psychologist back in Poland has expressed concern for his mental welfare.

But far from showing signs of shrinking under an intense spotlight, Artur Boruc is standing tall and meeting head-on the challenge of repairing his battered reputation.

For the second successive game the Holy Goalie made a brilliant reflex save at a pivotal moment.

And, again, he walked off at full-time without another humiliating blunder to torment him.

That peace of mind, at least in a football sense, is priceless for a player going through a messy divorce.

Slowly but surely Boruc is on his way back to his best and that he maintains his revival is critical for Celtic 12 days from facing Rangers.

Especially when they are suddenly looking shaky, with five points dropped in two games, as they were last December.

Just 36 minutes into a torrid first half, with the champions already a goal down, Boruc produced the kind of stop to remind you why, not long ago, he was being talked about as a possible 10million AC Milan target.

Lightning-quick Hearts goalscorer Andrew Driver, superb throughout, raced clean through on goal and looked certain to kill off the struggling Hoops as he shaped up another left-foot shot.

Driver couldn’t have struck or placed the ball better as it arrowed low towards the far corner. But Boruc hurled himself to his left and at full stretch tipped it past for a corner. A breathtaking save which kept Celtic alive.

Boruc had saved brilliantly from Villarreal’s Nihat three days earlier to begin the comeback process after an almighty howler at Hibs.

Driver knew the significance of Boruc denying him at a time when an impressively-drilled Hearts side were running the jaded Hoops ragged.

But while cursing him, he was also big enough to give credit where it was due.

Driver, who haunted Andreas Hinkel in the wide open spaces of Parkhead, said: He got down well to his left.

He’s taken a lot of stick, but you have to remember he was the top goalie at the European Championships. He’s not going to become bad overnight.

Everyone makes mistakes. But if keepers make a mistake then it’s a goal. Even still, running through one on one with him is very daunting as he’s a big guy and a top-quality goalie.

As bad as Celtic were for most of a compelling match, Hearts were outstanding, with a game plan perfect in its planning and execution.

It was another triumph for coach Csaba Laszlo, whose tactical and motivational abilities are now coming to the fore.

With his hysterical dugout antics and post-match ramblings, it can be all too easy to dismiss him as a hapless eccentric.

But Laszlo clearly knows his stuff and, critically, he’s got his players well and truly on board. They couldn’t have given him any more at Parkhead and they rattled a Celtic side which, frankly, barely deserved a point.

The Hoops will argue they dominated possession in the second half and had the Jambos hanging on in a frantic last 10 minutes.

But until a 73rd-minute shot by sub Lee Naylor, lacklustre Celts hadn’t had a single shot on target.

Driver’s 23rd-minute opener at point-blank range, from a defence-splitting Laryea Kingston pass, had filled Hearts with belief.

Celtic were relieved to go in at half-time only one behind, with loud jeers from brassed-off fans ringing in their ears.

They had to raise their game after the break and a Stephen McManus close-range header in the 79th minute proved enough to earn a draw.

Celtic piled on the pressure and both Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon could not contain their disgust at Hearts’ blatant timewasting, with booked keeper Janos Balogh the worst offender.

There should have been more than the three minutes added on by ref Charlie Richmond as Celtic chased a winner. But it would have been ill-deserved.

Their gamesmanship apart, Hearts once more showed how far they have come since a spineless defeat to Celtic at Tynecastle last month.

A point was the least they merited against a home team for whom only Paul Hartley stood out with his tireless back-tracking and composed passing.

Adding to the pain of a poverty-stricken display was the 27th-minute loss of Shaun Maloney with a hamstring injury which could rule him out for weeks.

Fair play to Celts boss Strachan for not camouflaging a bad performance.

He said: It was a poor first half for us and it was the first time we’ve been affected by a Champions League game.

Hearts did well in terms of pressing and being physically strong.

But we were too predictable in the first half and that was probably one of the worst performances for a long, long time.

We built ourselves up to average in the second half.

But it’s going to happen between now and the end of the season. There will be off-days.

We must be happy with a point considering our first 45 minutes. It was a nothing first half for us.

To say it was poor is enough to cover it.

A rueful Strachan added: It was a hamstring for Shaun and it’s not very good.

Maloney pulled up sharply chasing a pass — now Strachan has to hope his team hasn’t also gone lame at a crucial stage of the title race.