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Trivia
- The league title may have been wrapped up two weeks ago but there was no suggestion of Celtic taking it easy against Hearts at Parkhead.
- With the championship trophy being presented to the team after the game, Celtic wanted to put on a show for their fans and, despite the narrow scoreline, the victory was emphatic
Review
Hearts worked hard to contain Celtic but rarely ventured into their opponents half. Martin O'Neill made changes to his starting line up with Tommy Johnson replacing the injured Chris Sutton up front, while Jackie McNamara and Colin Healy were given midfield roles at the expense of Neil Lennon and LuboMoravcik. Didier Agathe was also given an unfamiliar role on the left flank. The changes did little to disrupt the normal pattern of play and Celtic had Hearts on the back foot right from the kick off.
Agathe was first to threaten when his thunderous strike cannoned off the crossbar after four minutes. Henrik Larsson, chasing his 50th goal of the season, was denied by the outstretched leg of Hearts goalkeeper Antti Niemi and Johnson saw his header fly over the bar from the resulting corner. Niemi had to punch away another fierce effort from Agathe and Larsson was just inches away from diverting a Johan Mjallby header into the net as Celtic continued to press.
The miss of the match came on the half hour when Alan Thompson scuffed his shot straight at Niemi from just six yards out and was guilty of heading the rebound wide of the target.
Hearts posed little in the way of an attacking threat but the Celtic defence were given a wake up call in the 37th minute when Gary Wales burst through on goal only to scoop his shot high over the bar under pressure from Mjallby.
Healy, who had a quiet first half, went close to scoring at the start of the second period, but his low drive fizzed a yard wide of Niemi's goal. Celtic were finding it difficult to recapture their attacking momentum and Healy was replaced by Moravcik with 25 minutes remaining.
The substitute made an immediate impact with a dangerous shot which Niemi did well to push clear. Two minutes later, Moravcik got the party started when he swept home a great pass from Larsson to break the deadlock.
Larsson should have extended the Celtic when Niemi rushed from his goal only to miss the ball altogether. However, Scott Severin managed to nick the ball from the toes of the Swedish striker.
Hearts threw on Juanjo and Gordon Durie in a bid to salvage something from the game. Moravcik almost grabbed a second goal in the 78th minute but saw his strike float just wide. Larsson then shot weakly at Niemi after a wonderful chip from Moravcik had carved open the Hearts defence.
Both teams gave youngsters a taste of the action in the final ten minutes with Jamie Smith coming on for Celtic and Andy Webster taking his place in the Hearts side.
Teams
Celtic:-
Douglas, Vega, Mjallby, Valgaeren, Agathe, McNamara, Healy (Moravcik 65), Lambert (Boyd), Thompson, Larsson, Johnson (Smith).
Subs:- Gould, Mahe.
Goal:- Moravcik 67.
Hearts:-
Niemi, Flogel, Severin, Mckenna, Pressley, McCann, Makel, Cameron, Boyack, Wales, Kirk.
Subs:- McKenzie, Durie, Juanjo, Webster, Neilson.
Ref:- M McCurrie
Att:- 59,298
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Lubo strike sinks brave Hearts
BBC
Celtic 1-0 Hearts
The league title may have been wrapped up two weeks ago but there was no suggestion of Celtic taking it easy against Hearts at Parkhead.
With the championship trophy being presented to the team after the game, Celtic wanted to put on a show for their fans and, despite the narrow scoreline, the victory was emphatic.
The 59,298 crowd had to wait 67 minutes for a goal from substitute Lubo Moravcik and watched their favourites squander numerous good chances, but there was little doubt that Celtic's 29th victory of an incredible season would be delivered.
Hearts worked hard to contain Celtic but rarely ventured into their opponents half.
Martin O'Neill made changes to his starting line up with Tommy Johnson replacing the injured Chris Sutton up front, while Jackie McNamara and Colin Healy were given midfield roles at the expense of Neil Lennon, who was attending his grandmother's funeral, and Moravcik.
Didier Agathe was also given an unfamiliar role on the left flank.
The change in tactics and personnel did little to disrupt the normal pattern of play at Parkhead and the home side had Hearts on the back foot right from the kick off.
Agathe was first to threaten when his thunderous strike cannoned off the crossbar after four minutes.
Henrik Larsson, in pursuit of his 50th goal of the season, was denied by the outstretched leg of Hearts goalkeeper Antti Niemi and Johnson saw his header fly over the bar from the resulting corner.
Niemi had to punch away another fierce effort from Agathe and Larsson was just inches away from diverting a Johan Mjallby header into the net as Celtic continued to press.
The miss of the match came on the half hour when Alan Thompson scuffed his shot straight at Niemi from just six yards out and was guilty of heading the rebound wide of the target.
Hearts posed little in the way of an attacking threat but the Celtic defence were given a wake up call in the 37th minute when Gary Wales burst through on goal only to scoop his shot high over the bar under pressure from Mjallby.
Healy, who had a quiet first half, went close to scoring at the start of the second period, but his low drive fizzed a yard wide of Niemi's goal.
Celtic were finding it difficult to recapture their attacking momentum and Healy was replaced by Moravcik with 25 minutes remaining.
The substitute made an immediate impact with a dangerous shot which Niemi did well to push clear.
Two minutes later, Moravcik got the party started when he swept home a great pass from Larsson to break the deadlock.
Larsson should have extended the Celtic when Niemi rushed from his goal only to miss the ball altogether. However, Scott Severin managed to nick the ball from the toes of the Swedish striker.
Hearts threw on Juanjo and Gordon Durie in a bid to salvage something from the game.
Moravcik almost grabbed a second goal in the 78th minute but saw his strike float just wide.
Larsson then shot weakly at Niemi after a wonderful chip from Moravcik had carved open the visitors defence.
Both teams gave youngsters a taste of the action in the final ten minutes with Jamie Smith coming on for Celtic and Andy Webster taking his place in the Hearts side.
Celtic: Douglas, Vega, Mjallby, Valgaeren, Agathe, McNamara, Healy, Lambert, Thompson, Larsson, Johnson.
Subs: Gould, Boyd, Mahe, Moravcik, Smith.
Hearts: Niemi, Flogel, Severin, Mckenna, Pressley, McCann, Makel, Cameron, Boyack, Wales, Kirk.
Subs: McKenzie, Durie, Juanjo, Webster, Neilson.
Referee: M McCurrie