Celtic 4 Hearts1
Hoops' double for the Hoops secures romp

From ROBERT GRIEVE at CELTIC PARK
Published: 19th January 2013
72
IF this is Gary Hooper distracted then he’ll be some player when his mind’s back on the job.

Neil Lennon had nothing to worry about.

The £5million bid Norwich slapped on the table didn’t affect the Celtic striker one little bit.

It’s 20 goals for the season now for the in-demand English striker.

And as temperatures plummeted all around the UK the 24-year old’s value continues to rise.

Norwich better write another cheque. Because the one they’ve written and addressed to Celtic is a waste of everyone’s time.

Here Hooper’s lethal double came in a comfortable home win with Georgios Samaras and Lassad also hitting the net.

How soon did Celtic have these three points won? Put it this way, the home fans started singing: ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ before kick-off.

By the time they’d finished their team were 1-0 up.

If any of them then decided to nip for a pie and a bovril they’d have missed goal No 2.

You just can’t defend like Hearts did and expect to escape punishment. Young left-back Kevin McHattie is a top talent who by all accounts is destined to go all the way in the game.

But he’s still a kid at 19 who needs to be helped out by the experienced pros around him.

Andy Driver was never close enough to his team-mate to stand any chance of digging him out a hole. Adam Matthews and Kris Commons could both see the teenager was helplessly exposed and they just kept demanding the ball with unstoppable over-lapping runs.

But, overall, Celtic were in no mood to let points slip here.

This season teams have been let off the hook by some real slackness in front of goal.

Not this time.

Hooper had the ball in the net inside 90 seconds with a simple tap-in from close range after Matthews set him up.

In 12 minutes Samaras did the same thing after great work from Commons.

You had to feel for former Rangers centre-half Danny Wilson who was making his debut on loan from Liverpool. He looked good on the ball striding out from the back.

But the Hoops frontline attacked him from all angles and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. Wilson will prove to be a clever signing by John McGlynn but here he didn’t stand a chance.

Celts were weakened with keeper Fraser Forster out of the side due to a neck injury.

It gave stand-in Lukasz Zaluska a chance to shine between the sticks — but after the first half hour he must have wondered if he’d be required to make a single save.

The Jambos had moments in the first half where they looked capable of doing something.

But Celtic had the look of a team that could score whenever they actually felt like it.

The offside flag saved the visitors a couple of times as they decided to try to play a high defensive line.

But it was almost asking for trouble given the pace in the Celts’ side.

Keeper Jamie MacDonald was left exposed five minutes before the interval when the maroon shirts in front of him pushed up the park.

Commons darted through but his ball across to Joe Ledley was cut out before the midfielder had a shot blocked.

The half-time whistle couldn’t come quickly enough for the Tynecastle men who looked beaten as they trudged up the tunnel.

Gaffer McGlynn could have made any number of alterations but the one he opted for saw Callum Paterson hooked and Jamie Walker thrown on. It was asking a lot to expect the youngster to change the game but he gave it his best shot.

Zaluska didn’t ever look like being beaten by Walker’s shot at goal five minutes into the second half.

But the fact that Hearts had an effort on target was at least a step in the right direction for them.

Had they pulled a goal back it might have injected some nerves into Celtic’s play. But while they were 2-0 ahead the home side appeared confident.

Hooper had the ball in the net in 52 minutes but the strike was offside and the goal didn’t count.

Five minutes later the in-demand hitman pulled up after stretching for a ball and seemed to tweak something, but he wasn’t down on the turf for long as he quickly got back to his feet.

Skipper Scott Brown was next to have an attempt at goal with Matthews picking him out with an exquisite cross, but the midfielder’s diving header flew over the top.

It really did look like it was only a matter of time before Celtic put their opposition out their misery. They almost scored a magnificent team goal when Hooper laid the ball into Ledley’s path after tremendous link-up play between Samaras and Hooper down the right.

But, with the home fans already on their feet expecting the third of the day, the Welsh midfielder’s effort was saved well by keeper MacDonald.

Then it happened. After being under the cosh for almost 70 minutes, the Jambos scored. John Sutton got his head on a long ball from the back with a flick-on which Jason Holt latched on to before unleashing a right-footed shot which clipped off Mikael Lustig and found the corner of the net.

Zaluska dived full length across his goal in a desperate attempt to get his fingertips onto the ball, but he couldn’t.

Incredibly, it was Hearts’ first goal here since Michael Stewart netted in October 2009.

Suddenly the result didn’t look so certain.

But, in truth, all the strike did was give the small band of Hearts supporters hope when there was none.

With five minutes left Hooper’s second of the game sealed a deserved win with his turn and shot clinical.

Then in stoppage time substitute Lassad hit Celts’ fourth with a cool finish from a tight angle.