Craig Beattie stuns Celtic as Hearts book Scottish Cup final spot

Scottish Cup 2011-12
Celtic 1

Hooper 87

Hearts 2

Skacel 47,
Beattie (pen) 90+2

Ewan Murray at Hampden Park
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 15 April 2012 17.36 BST

Heart of Midlothian will face Hibernian in this season's Scottish Cup final, the first time an Edinburgh derby has formed such an occasion since 1896. Without question, this will represent the biggest meeting of Hearts and Hibs in history.

The dust might just have settled on this incident-packed encounter by the time the final arrives on 19 May. A month ago, Celtic were on course for a domestic treble; controversy overshadowed their subsequent League Cup final loss to Kilmarnock, with Neil Lennon again furious here.

Celtic's manager was rightly aggrieved by the penalty award which led to Hearts' winner. Joe Ledley was punished for a last-minute handball, a ridiculously soft decision which allowed Craig Beattie to score from 12 yards. Celtic believed they should have had a penalty of their own, after the Hearts award, for an Andy Webster handball. In reality, that looked even less of a viable claim than the one from which Beattie profited.

At full-time, Lennon raced from his technical area to confront the referee Euan Norris, a matter that could trigger disciplinary attention from the Scottish Football Association. Lennon already has three such cases ongoing.

The Celtic manager opted not to speak after the game but used his Twitter page to express incredulity. "Referee told players he thought [Victor] Wanyama handled ... feel so sorry for players and fans .. I think it's personal myself."

His first‑team coach, Alan Thompson, expanded on the issue. "I have seen the incidents three or four times," said Thompson. "If he gives a penalty at one end, he needs to give another. He has to be consistent with it.

"There's an inconsistency with how the referee sees it. Yet again we think we've been done in a cup final [sic] from a big decision. In the League Cup final we were denied a stonewall penalty."

Thompson also believed the Hearts midfielder Ian Black was fortunate to stay on the pitch following an early lunge on Ledley. "It was a bad one, he has gone over the ball and over the top. Ledley is lucky he got away with it."

There had been no hint of impending drama during a mundane opening half. Stephen Elliott missed a Hearts chance within 30 seconds of the kick-off, with Celtic's Ki Sung-yueng rattling the goal frame with a 45th-minute header.

Hearts took the lead two minutes after the restart. Beattie, who excelled after appearing as a substitute, played in Rudi Skacel. The Czech midfielder further endorsed his hero status among the Hearts following with a finish into the roof of Fraser Forster's net.

Celtic had been wasteful in their attempts at mustering a response but Gary Hooper ensured exactly that – albeit seemingly from an offside position – when meeting Charlie Mulgrew's cross with his head. Norris pointed straight to the spot after Ledley blocked a Marius Zaliukas shot at close-range. Beattie, a former Celtic player, wounded his former employers in calm fashion. Ledley volleyed Celtic's best stoppage‑time opportunity straight at the Hearts goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald, who enjoyed a fine afternoon.

"For me, playing Hibs is the same as playing any other teams," said the Hearts manager, Paulo Sergio. He should try telling that to his club's supporters. Edinburgh is already in the grip of fevered anticipation.

Man of the match Craig Beattie (Hearts)

Taken from the Guardian/Observer