Stewart the hero as Hearts secure semi spot

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than to be good. Little has been good about Hearts this season but luck has been even less previlant. Tonight at Celtic Park that all changed as Celtic bombarded the Hearts goal but couldn't put the ball in the back of the net, leaving a Michael Stewart penalty to secure a place in the last four of the Co-operative Insurance Cup with a stunning 1-0 win.

With Suso Santana out injured there was only one change to the team that drew with Falkirk at the weekend as Ian Black came in for a like-for-like swap, playing just off Christian Nade.

Sixty seconds into the game the new partnership almost gave Hearts a shock lead. Nade, drifting out to the right wing, played a defence splitting one-two with Black that allowed the former to cut inside the covering defender and test the reflexes of Lukasz Zaluska from ten yards.

For the most part the first half was a stale and stagnant affair. Celtic got a lot of possession in the final third but with Hearts doubling up on McGeady and Maloney at every concieveable opportunity the home side found it difficult to cut open their opponents.

In fact the next chance of the game fell to Hearts with ten minutes remaining in the half. Craig Thomson slipped the ball down the wing for David Obua who edged a yard in front of Danny Fox before cutting back from the byline. The ball found an unmarked Ismael Bouzid ten yards from goal but the defender headed wide.

Determined to cut the dire form that has plagued the team this season Hearts defended in numbers and did so to great success in the first half. A couple of half chances were all that the hosts could muster before a long ball through the middle presented Celtic with their first decent opportunity of the game as Zheng Zhi raced on to take a first time shot from twenty yards. The shot may have had a diving Balogh beaten but this was an irrelevance as the shot flashed wide of the right hand post.

This spurred on Celtic in the final few minutes of the half and they had an even better chance to take the lead when Janos Balogh flapped at an Aiden McGeady cross. The ball broke for Maloney in yards of space but the attacker couldn't get the ball under control and after he was closed down Killen's close range effort was superbly saved by a redeeming Balogh.

Despite a positive contribution in the first half Ian Black found himself left behind in the dressing room as the players re-took the field with Eggert Jonsson replacing him. The move almost paid off immediately as Jonsson flicked on a high ball that allowed Andy Driver to run through on goal. The winger flicked the ball past Zaluska but Andreas Hinkel recovered in time to clear the danger.

Celtic made a sub of their own to start the half with the underperforming Shaun Maloney being replaced by Paddy McCourt, and he too made an immediate impact on proceedings. The Irishman cut inside from the left flank, past a challenge from Thomson before unleashing an unstoppable shot that thundered off the underside of the crossbar but the wrong side of the goal-line.

Twelve minutes into the half Hearts took the lead. Christian Nade made a clever run into the right hand side of the penalty area where he got to the ball ahead of Stephen McManus whose sliding challenge took down the French forward and referee Craig Thomson pointed to the spot. With the boos from Saturday still fresh in his ears Michael Stewart stepped up and squirmed his spot kick under Zaluska and into the back of the net.

With twenty-five minutes of the game remaining two glorious chances fell the way of Georgios Samaras to equalise for the home side. First the Greek striker was slipped through running into the centre of the penalty area but couldn't get a clean shot away before he was closed down by Balogh. The big striker then found himself with more time inside the penalty area but his delightful chip over Balogh bounced off the bottom of the post and away to safety.

Samaras looked like he just couldn't buy a goal when, with fifteen minutes left, he somehow managed to head the ball wide despite being unmarked from eight yards out.

Hearts just couldn't seem to either keep control the ball or defend at all as chance after chance fell the way of the home side. Aiden McGeady was next to have a go when his free-kick from the edge of the box curled just wide of the left hand post. Only a couple of minutes later Thomson failed to cut out a deep ball and McCourt was the next Celtic player to find himself in acres of space. Again, somehow, the ball didn't find its way into the back of the net as the shot flashed across the face of goal.

With the seconds ticking away Andrew Driver raced past Stephen McManus on the right wing only for the Celtic defender to cynically bring down the Englishman with the perfect example of a professional foul. The referee only produced a yellow card but after consulting his linesman McManus was deservedly shown a red card.

Finally...there were no more chances for Celtic. No more defensive lapses. No more hear attacks from members of the away support. Finally, it was over. Hearts had done it again at Celtic Park. Two years ago Andrius Velicka put Celtic to the sword but this time it was Michael Stewart who put Hearts through to the semi-final of the Co-operative Insurance Cup.

Celtic: Zaluska; Hinkel, McManus, Caldwell, Fox; Crosas, N'Guemo, Maloney (McCourt 45), Zhi (Samaras 58), McGeady, Killen (McDonald 58). Subs not used: Cervi, Wilson. Booked: Fox. Sent Off: McManus

Hearts: Balogh; Thomson, Bouzid, Goncalves, Wallace; Stewart, Palazuelos; Obua, Black (Jonsson 45), Driver; Nade (Witteveen 73). Subs not used: Kello, Kucharski, Glen. Booked: Bouzid, Jonsson, Goncalves

Referee: Craig Thomson

Top man: Michael Stewart

Hearts World