Hearts 3-0 Celtic

Hearts took a massive step towards clinching second place in the SPL and a shot at the Champions League qualifiers as they comprehensively beat champions Celtic. A victory for Hearts against Aberdeen will guarantee them that opportunity rendering their clash at Ibrox on the last day meaningless.

The result could have been so different had McManus taken a glorious chance inside the first two minutes, but his shot was straight at Craig Gordon despite finding himself totally unmarked just seven yards out. Having failed to find the net at one end, McManus succeeded at the other end just five minutes later. After conceeding a soft free-kick, Hartley whipped in a free kick from the left and the ball spun off the head of the Celtic defender, past the helpless Boruc. It was a needless header as he was under no pressure and from a Celtic perspective, was a very dissapointing goal to conceed.

However, Celtic were to be even more dissapointed shortly afterwards. Hartley was given permission to take another free kick quickly and while Boruc was still organising his wall. The Polish keeper could not make up the ground as the Hearts midfielder curled the ball into the far corner of the goal.

Celtic were shell-shocked and Hearts almost made it three before quarter-of-an-hour had been played when Rudi Skacel crashed a shot off the post after a fantastic individual run.

Roy Keane was struggling to influence the game saw and the Irishman passed up an excellent opportunity midway through the first half. He shown great awareness and when Steven Pressley's loose header landed at his feet on the edge of the six-yard box a goal looked a certainty only for Keane to scuff a weak shot into the keeper's arms.

Maciej Zurawski who was posted missing in the first half, almost pulled a goal back at the beginning of the second period with a fiercely-struck drive after dis-possessing Ibrahim Tall but his shot was well blocked by Gordon at his near post.

Hearts put the game to bed on 63 minutes when Hartley picked out the run of Bednar who kept his cool to tuck the ball past the out-rushing Boruc. There were claims for offside but replays show he was just on.

After Lennon went off Celtic went up a gear and Gordon had to save well from replacement Stilian Petrov's long-range drive and the Scotland international denied the Celtic midfielder again just before full-time when he tipped over his near-post effort. As the full-time whistle blew, no one inside the staduim could argue that the best team on the day won. It was Celtic's worst defeat at Tynecastle since 1972 and worst league defeat since a 5-1 defeat at Ibrox in 2000.


Hearts: Gordon, Neilson, Pressley, Tall (Berra 80), Fyssas, Cesnauskis (Barasa 83), Hartley, Aguiar, Skacel, Bednar (Pospisil 74), Jankauskas

Subs Not Used: Banks, Wallace, Brellier, Driver


Celtic (4-4-2)

Boruc

Telfer Varga McManus Wilson

Nakamura Keane Lennon(Petrov 66) Maloney

Dublin(Hartson 73) Zurawski(Pearson 69)


Attendance: 16,795

Referee: A Freeland