Celtic go clear as Loovens leaves it late

Published Date: 21 September 2009
By Stephen Halliday
CELTIC succeeded in placing daylight between themselves and Rangers at the top of the SPL for the first time this season when Glenn Loovens headed a stoppage-time winner against a Hearts side who had threatened to force Tony Mowbray's team to end a difficult week in a dark place.
After Suso Santana's first goal for Hearts had put Celtic behind after just five minutes, Mowbray's players eventually emerged with considerable credit for their refusal to accept anything less than the victory which puts them two points clear of the reigning champions.

The energy levels they displayed in the process made light of their demoralising Europa League defeat in humid conditions in Israel on Thursday night. Chris Killen headed them level ten minutes into the second half but they required an inexplicable aberration from Hearts left-back Lee Wallace to deliver the late winner.

Wallace, in a position to comfortably clear the ball to safety, allowed it to run out of play for a corner. His claim that the ball had struck Celtic substitute Niall McGinn was correctly given no credence by assistant referee Tommy Johnston who was in close attendance.

It led to more late dismay for Csaba Laszlo's side, who have also dropped points against Rangers and St Johnstone with the concession of last-minute goals this season. As cruel as the circumstances were for Hearts yesterday, however, there could be no disputing Celtic merited their victory.

Scott Brown will not reflect on Hearts' early goal with any pride. The midfielder lost possession to Michael Stewart near the centre circle, the Hearts captain quickly feeding the ball to Suso who embarked on a surging run through the middle. Brown's effort to give chase saw him eluded all too easily by the Spanish winger who turned on to his right foot and drove in a low shot from the edge of the penalty area which beat Artur Boruc to his right and nestled in the corner of the net.

The visitors appeared almost as startled as their hosts at this development and soon found themselves firmly on the back foot as Celtic set about trying to recover from their setback.

For all that they camped in the Hearts' half of the pitch for lengthy periods, however, there was too often a lack of conviction and composure about Celtic's work. Hearts also defended heroically at times, showing the kind of doggedness which has characterised several of their recent trips to Parkhead.

Shaun Maloney recorded Celtic's first effort on target after a Danny Fox free-kick had been cleared into his path on the edge of the penalty area. Maloney's volley was well struck but straight at Janos Balogh who made a fairly comfortable save.

While Hearts were being forced to defend from deep positions, they continued to carry a threat on the counter and Suso found the space to fire in another drive from around 20 yards. Boruc, who might have done better with the goal, got down to clutch safely on this occasion.

The excellent set piece delivery of Fox was Celtic's most potent attacking weapon. The full-back's left foot caused mayhem in the Hearts penalty area with one corner kick, the ball eventually scrambled into the path of Aiden McGeady who drove his shot narrowly wide of Balogh's left hand post.

Balogh, back in for the injured Marian Kello, was generally assured in his resistance to Celtic's efforts to get back on terms. He made a save he perhaps did not need to when he turned a Killen header behind, the ball appearing to be going wide in any case. But Balogh redeemed any error of judgment when he got down to keep out a McGeady shot following the resultant corner.

The Hungarian was beaten all ends up in the 26th minute, watching in relief as Shaun Maloney's superbly struck free-kick from 25 yards crashed back off the crossbar.

Hearts were forced into a defensive reshuffle seven minutes before the interval, Marius Zaliukas limping off following a clash with Killen. He was replaced by his young Lithuanian compatriot Arvydas Novikovas with Ismael Bouzid, who had surprisingly started the match as a lone striker, reverting to his more familiar central defensive beat alongside Jose Goncalves.

While Hearts were having to ride their luck, they remained capable of causing concern for a less than convincing Celtic back four. The Gorgie men might easily have doubled their lead before the break. First, Boruc had to scramble to his right to claw a Goncalves header behind for a corner.

The Polish keeper was then put under needless pressure from Gary Caldwell who bizarrely allowed Andrew Driver to race unopposed onto a long Balogh clearance.

Boruc got enough on the England under-21 international's low shot to take the sting out of it, leaving Caldwell to slide in and atone for his sloppiness with a goal-line clearance.

Celtic responded by increasing the tempo after the interval and Killen's 55th-minute equaliser was certainly overdue. The New Zealand international saw a long-range effort saved one-handed by Balogh. Maloney did well to keep the ball in play on the left, swivelling to deliver a cross which Killen headed firmly home at the far post.

Mowbray's men should have spared themselves the late desperation and drama which was required to claim all three points. McGeady struck the crossbar from distance, then Scott McDonald saw a shot rebound from Balogh's right-hand post. Killen horribly miscued the rebound, the ball breaking back to McDonald who this time saw his shot cleared off the line by Thomson.

When referee Dougie McDonald waved away a forceful Celtic claim for a penalty in the 85th minute, ruling that Wallace had taken the ball with a sliding challenge on substitute McGinn, Hearts appeared destined to depart with a prized point.

But the surprising announcement of four minutes stoppage time gave fresh impetus to the home side. In the third of them, Wallace made his fatal misjudgment. Fox took the corner from the right, McGeady headed back across the six-yard box where Loovens rose highest to nod the ball into the roof of the net.

Taken from the Scotsman