2007-01-14: Hearts 1-2 Celtic, Premier League

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Trivia

Celtic fight back after going down 1-0 after half an hour.
Later winner by Jiri Jarosik.
Stretch lead at the top to 17points!

Review

Jiri Jarosik scored a superb winner as Celtic came from behind to defeat Hearts and stretch their lead in the Scottish Premier League to 17 points.

Celtic were nothing less than appalling in the first half, and we were lucky not to be 2 nil down at half time. We made little if anything of our possession in the first 45mins. Referee was pish though too.

Second half things were much better, but I get the feeling that things wouldn’t have been so bad if McGeady or Riordan (neither of whom played) would have been on from the start.

Teams

Hearts:-
Gordon, Barasa (Tall 23), Zaliukas, Berra, Fyssas, Mikoliunas, Hartley, McCann, Driver (Elliot 51), Velicka, Bednar (Pospisil 75).
Subs Not Used:- Banks, Wallace, Mole, Jonsson.
Goal:- Mikoliunas 28.
Booked:- Mikoliunas.

Celtic (4-4-2):-
Boruc, Telfer, Pressley, O’Dea, Naylor, Nakamura, Gravesen, Jarosik, Sno, Zurawski (Beattie 54), Vennegoor of Hesselink.
Subs Not Used:- Marshall, Miller, Riordan, Lawson, McGeady, Conroy.
Goals:- Vennegoor of Hesselink 59, Jarosik 81.
Booked:- Naylor.

Att:- 17,129
Ref:- K Clarke.

Articles

Match Report (see end of page below)
Match Report (BBC)

Pictures

Match Pictures

KStreet

Match & Pre-Thread
MOTM Voting
Winner – Shunsuke Nakamura – (Link to MOTM Winners 2006-07)

Articles

Hearts 1-2 Celtic
By Clive Lindsay
BBC

Jiri Jarosik scored a superb winner as Celtic came from behind to defeat Hearts and stretch their lead in the Scottish Premier League to 17 points.

Saulius Mikoliunas blasted Hearts into a deserved lead from 25 yards and Paul Telfer prevented a second by clearing Roman Bednar’s header off the line.

But Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, moments after having an attempt cleared off the line, equalised from close range.

And, despite chances for both sides, Jarosik won it with a fine low drive.

Interview: Hearts head coach Valdas Ivanauskas
Interview: Celtic manager Gordon Strachan

It was a happy return to Tynecastle for Steven Pressley – captaining Celtic for the first time on his return to his former club.

Thomas Gravesen had come into midfield along with Jarosik in place of suspended captain Neil Lennon as Aiden McGeady dropped to the bench.

Hearts were without Robbie Neilson and Bruno Aguiar through suspension, with Paul Hartley and Mikoliunas returning to the side.

Celtic captain Steven Pressley takes to the Tynecastle pitch
Steven Pressley was at Tynecastle as a Celtic player

Bednar, Takis Fyssas and Marius Zaliukas also came in for Michal Pospisil, Lee Wallace and Christos Karipidis.

Gravesen was lucky not to have action taken against him when he kicked out at Mikoliunas off the ball.

And Hearts suffered a blow when Nerijus Barasa had to go off injured, with Ibrahim Tall coming into defence.

But they still threatened and Mikoliunas was allowed room to cut inside before firing a drive at goal.

It was straight at Artur Boruc on that occasion, but the Celtic defence did not heed the warning.

And, when the Lithuanian winger was allowed a second attempt moments later, his powerful, left-foot drive from 25 yards dipped in off the post.

Hearts just failed to add to the scoring when Bednar set Andrew Driver clear.

MY SPORT DEBATE: Your views on Celtic’s victory

Boruc blocked the winger’s shot, Hartley picked up the loose ball, his cross was headed towards goal by Bednar and Telfer hooked the ball off the line.

Hearts began to lose control of midfield when they lost Driver to injury shortly after the break, the youngster being replaced with striker Calum Elliot.

Saulius Mikoliunas opened the scoring for Hearts
Saulius Mikoliunas opened the scoring for Hearts

Celtic came close to equalising when Vennegoor of Hesselink’s header was cleared off the line by Gordon and Nakamura’s attempt to fire home on the rebound was blocked by Berra.

And, when Gordon failed to hold substitute Craig Beattie’s low drive, Vennegoor of Hesselink slotted home from five yards out.

Celtic were an inch away from going ahead when a Nakamura drive deflected off Tall and stuck the underside of the crossbar.

And a low Mikoliunas cross just evaded Hartley in front of an unguarded Celtic net.

But it was Celtic who made their class tell by clinching the points when Jarosik drifted in from the left and fired into the far corner of the net from 18 yards.

Hearts: Gordon, Barasa (Tall 23), Zaliukas, Berra, Fyssas, Mikoliunas, Hartley, McCann, Driver (Elliot 51), Velicka, Bednar (Pospisil 75).
Subs Not Used: Banks, Wallace, Mole, Jonsson.

Booked: Mikoliunas.

Goal: Mikoliunas 28.

Celtic: Boruc, Telfer, Pressley, O’Dea, Naylor, Nakamura, Gravesen, Jarosik, Sno, Zurawski (Beattie 54), Vennegoor of Hesselink.
Subs Not Used: Marshall, Miller, Riordan, Lawson, McGeady, Conroy.

Booked: Naylor.

Goals: Vennegoor of Hesselink 59, Jarosik 81.

Att: 17,129

Ref: K Clarke

Match Report

Bhoys come from goal down to win at Hearts

Hearts 1 Celtic 2

Celtic stormed back from a goal behind to beat Hearts at Tynecastle and restore their lead at the top of the Bank of Scotland Premier League to 17 points.

Jambos’ midfielder Saulius Mikoliunas fired his side into a first-half lead with a spectacular drive from 30 yards but 14 minutes after the break Hoops striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink equalised from close range.

And in the 81st minute Jiri Jarosik’s powerful drive from the edge of the box gave Celtic three points that had looked unlikely at the interval.

Once again the champions showed their resilience to win while not playing at their best and the victory would have been all the sweeter for Celtic stand-in skipper Steven Pressley , who returned to Tynecastle for the first time since joining the Parkhead side in the transfer window.

The Scotland defender was given a mostly positive reaction from the Gorgie faithful as he led the visitors out. The majority of the Tynecastle fans chose to remember the service he gave Hearts during the eight-and-a-half seasons he was at the club rather than castigate him for leaving after his dispute with majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov.

And despite a poor start to the match for the Parkhead side, Pressley’s return ended in joy.

The battle for early dominance took place against the backdrop of a swirling wind which made life difficult for the players, and there was little early action.

Hearts were dealt a blow halfway through the first half when right-back Nerijus Barasa had to be replaced by Ibrahim Tall after picking up an injury.

In the 27th minute Jambos defender Takis Fyssas easily brushed off challenges from Evander Sno and Shunsuke Nakamura before sliding the ball to Mikoliunas, but the Lithuanian’s drive was saved by Artur Boruc.

However, a minute later the Gorgie midfielder fired the side into the lead with a stunning strike from 30 yards.

Fyssas played the ball up to Roman Bednar who held it up before laying it off to the Lithuanian who drove spectacularly past the helpless Boruc.

The Polish international appeared to be caught out by the flight of the ball but that did not matter to the jubilant Gorgie fans who gleefully taunted Pressley.

Then, in a dramatic 60-second period just before the break, the home side had two chances to score their second.

Following a slick breakaway, Bednar played in Andrew Driver, whose shot was brilliantly saved by Boruc. However when Hartley played the ball back into the box, Hoops defender Paul Telfer had to make a goalline clearance from Bednar’s header.

Seconds later Boruc saved another attempt by Driver, diving low to pounce on the youngster’s turn and shot from 10 yards out.

Then, as Celtic fought back, Hearts keeper Craig Gordon had to dive low to his left to save a decent left-footed effort from Maciej Zurawski.

Minutes into the second period Hearts replaced Driver with Calum Elliot while the champions brought on Craig Beattie for Zurawski.

The Hoops substitute made an immediate impact and in the 55th minutes Celtic should have equalised. Gordon saved brilliantly from a Vennegoor of Hesselink header, following Beattie’s cross to the back post, but the ball fell kindly to Nakamura 14 yards out.

The Japan international’s strike was goalbound but Fyssas blocked with his body and the Gorgie goal, fortuitously, emerged unscathed.

But their good fortune remained only momentarily and in the 59th minute the visitors scored the equaliser.

Beattie’s angled drive from 16 yards, after he had rounded Christophe Berra, was spilled by Gordon and Vennegoor of Hesselink was perfectly placed to knock the ball over the line from two yards.

In the 67th minute Nakamura rattled a shot off the Jambos’ crossbar from the edge of the box and only a timely clearance by Andrius Velicka prevented Vennegoor of Hesselink scoring his second from the rebound.

Hearts swapped Bednar for Michal Pospisil in the 74th minute but still the visitors dominated.

And in the 81st minute the resurgent Hoops took the lead with a wonderful goal by Jarosik.

The Czech midfielder skipped past Tall 25 yards from goal and drove a glorious right-footed shot low past Gordon to cap an impressive second-half comeback.

The Irish Examiner