2011-10-02: Hearts 2-0 Celtic, SPL

Trivia

• Celtic 10pts behind the Huns already! Pathetic.
• Lots of players out, but that's no excuse…

Review

(moravcik67 )
Worrying times. Losing to Hearts at Tynecastle? It happens. It's a tough place to go. Especially when you're without 5 players, all of whom would have started had they been fit. And we controlled the game for much of it. We looked the team more likely to win the game. The much maligned defence was actually doing a decent job. I was more concerned about the lack of clear cut chances we were creating, and the squandering of what chances did come our way.

But, as usual, there was no real surprise when they scored. That's the problem with our defence. Even on the days where they look to be doing ok, when they look reasonably comfortable, there's always one little lapse in concentration that gives up a chance. We got away with one in the first half when Forster saved the header. We didn't get away with the second. And it wasn't just one player who cost us at the back. It was a combined effort of a few players, and for both of the goals. Had any of the culpable players did their job both goals could have been prevented.

The truly worrying aspect of the game was the way we folded after the goal. We didn't look like getting back into the game. The lack of leadership on (and off) the park is frightening. It wasn't made any easier by some complete and utter fuddery (again) by Commons. He's rapidly losing the good faith he built up in the second half of last season. The bottom line is that we're a shadow of the team who looked so promising for the first few months of this year. Yes, we're hampered by injuries just now. But, IMO, it goes far beyond that. There's something wrong inside our club. Whether Lennon has lost the dressing room, I have no idea. But we haven't kicked on from last season in the way that I hoped and expected. We're regressing. The fight is going out this team. The lineups and tactics and substitutions are increasingly head scratching. The fans are slowly sinking back to where we were in the late Strachan/Mowbray seasons. Much of the optimism built up last season has drained away – a combination of yet another poor transfer window, and a poor, poor start to the season. We're a club floundering towards the rocks. And no amount of gloating threads, HMRC laugh-ins and :taxmancometh2: 's can disguise that.

The league isn't over. Not by a long way. But unless there's a dramatic improvement in our performances that point will be on us before we know it. We've given, at best, a 7pt lead to a team who know how to grind their way to the title. They'll have their wee sticky spell and open the door for us. But will we be able to take advantage? That's the question. Right now I have little confidence that we will.

Teams

Articles

• Match Report (see end of page below)

Pictures

• Match Pictures

MOTM

• Voting Thread
• Result Thread
• Winner –
• 2011-12 Winners

Stats

Fouls

• Hearts 16
• Celtic 1

Articles

Hearts overcome 10-man Celtic as Neil Lennon makes Tynecastle return
Scottish Premier League 2011-12
Hearts 2

Skacel 58,
Stevenson 81

Celtic 0

Ewan Murray at Tynecastle
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 2 October 2011 15.10 BST

Thankfully for all concerned, the only damage felt by Celtic here was in a football sense. Neil Lennon's return to the ground where he was attacked on the touchline in May was relatively uneventful in security terms. Lennon was wounded, though, by a defeat which leaves Celtic 10 points adrift of Rangers with a single game in hand. Already for Celtic, this is an ominous picture.

Rudi Skacel and Ryan Stevenson were Hearts' heroes. The Edinburgh team, who had been dismal in their previous two outings, offered their manager Paulo Sérgio a glimmer of hope as he attempts to alter their style of play.

Perhaps Hearts were motivated by a rare appearance and pre-match pep talk from their colourful owner, Vladimir Romanov.

Celtic played the closing 25 minutes with 10 men after the dismissal of Kris Commons. By full-time, Lennon cut a disconsolate figure.

For a fixture that has been littered with controversy in recent times, the first half was notably tame. Stevenson forced Fraser Forster into a fine save with a header before David Templeton hit a Celtic post from close range.

Celtic's best opportunity of the early exchanges fell to Mohamed Bangura, who headed straight at Jamie MacDonald when he should have done better. Thirteen minutes before the break, the Hearts full-back Jamie Hamill triggered further acrobatics from Forster with a curling free-kick.

Celtic had started the second period as the better team, with Hearts' breaking of the deadlock therefore something of a surprise. Less of a shock was that poor Celtic defending played a part in that.

A lob into Celtic territory from Hamill was not suitably attacked by Daniel Majstorovic. Templeton benefitted, the winger laying the ball into the feet of Skacel. From the moment the ball left the Czech player's foot, the result was inevitable.

Celtic's cause was further damaged by Commons' dismissal. The former Derby County midfielder was clearly tired, with his lunge into Adrian Mrowiec illustrating that.

Worse was to follow from the visitors. Amid more defensive uncertainty, Templeton was given time and space to cut the ball back for Stevenson. No mistake was made from there.

© 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

Page last updated at 13:43 GMT, Sunday, 2 October 2011 14:43 UK By Colin Moffat
BBC Scotland Stevenson hammers Hearts into an unassailable 2-0 lead at Tynecastle Rudi Skacel and Ryan Stevenson were on target as Hearts moved up to fourth place in the Scottish Premier League with a win over 10-man Celtic.
Fifty-eight minutes into a helter-skelter contest, Skacel drilled in a great strike from 16 yards.
Celtic then had midfielder Kris Commons sent off for an ugly, late challenge on Adrian Mrowiec.
Hearts sealed the points when Stevenson picked up a clever back-heel from David Templeton to crash home a shot.
The victory pushes the men in maroon ahead of St Johnstone on goal difference, while Celtic remain in third spot, ten points adrift of leaders Rangers.
Neil Lennon's side have lost three of their league fixtures this term, compared to just four defeats over the course of last season.
Tynecastle passed a morning pitch inspection following heavy overnight rain and the home side started like lightning on the zippy, wet turf.
The Celtic defence was caught napping at a fourth-minute free kick from Ian Black, with Hearts' lone striker Stevenson allowed a free diving header that Fraser Forster did well to tip round his post.
Soon after, Hearts skipper Marius Zaliukas hit the post with a shot from the penalty edge of the box, with Forster unsighted by a cluster of players following a corner.
Celtic took a while to get their strikers involved as a frenetic midfield battle raged on in the Edinburgh rain but the visitors should have taken the lead on 20 minutes. Commons was sent off after 65 minutes A poor header from Danny Grainger allowed James Forrest to scamper forward and cross from the right to find Bangura but the recent arrival's close-range header was not powerful enough and Jamie MacDonald got down smartly to make a fine stop.
From the resulting corner, Commons drilled in a shot that MacDonald had to turn away at his near post.
The game deteriorated, with the flow regularly interrupted due to the number of fouls being committed but both sides continued to fashion chances.
Forster made a fantastic save at full stretch to prevent Hamill's curling free-kick from 20 yards finding the top corner and MacDonald's palms were stung by a thunderous long-range strike from Commons before the interval.
Celtic made a strong start to the second half, with some sharp passing in midfield forcing the home side to sit deeper and deeper.
However, Hearts took the lead out of the blue when Hamill hoisted a high ball into the penalty area and Skacel latched on to a touch from Templeton to rifle a fierce, angled shot beyond Foster from 16 yards.
And things went from bad to worse for the visitors six minutes later as Commons was shown a straight red card for a late lunge at Mrowiec after losing control of the ball inside the centre circle.
Celtic responded with a shot from substitute Mark Wilson that was parried wide by MacDonald but Hearts were further ahead on 81 minutes.
Templeton scurried after a long ball over the top of the Celtic defence and conjured up a back-heel on the byeline that fell nicely for Stevenson, who was composed enough to evade the advancing Forster before slamming a shot high into the net.
The depleted visitors could not find a way back against a resolute Hearts defence, with the home side happy to hit on the break over the closing minutes.