2018-10-28: Hearts 0-3 Celtic, League Cup

Trivia

• League Cup semifinal
• Match being played at Murrayfield, biggest crowd at a football game in Scotland since 1989.
• Due to both Sevco & Celtic playing in UEFA Cup on Thursday, the original plan of one game Sat & Sun was not practical. So SPFL decided to have both games on Sunday at Hampden (Sevco v Aberdeen 12pm, Celtic v Hearts, 7.45pm)
• Police Federation general secretary on the original Hampden double-header – “idiotic”.
  After a furour, the games were rearranged with Celtic game to now be played at Murrayfield. Celtic very unhappy over all this.
• Massive gaps behind the goals as Rugby grounds/pitches are far larger than football pitches.
• Debut goal for Christie
• Brendan Rodgers is desperate to keep Ryan Christie at Celtic after the half-time substitute emerged as the holders’ Betfred cup hero at BT Murrayfield.
  Christie replaced Olivier Ntcham, earning a penalty for the first goal, drawing a mistake from Hearts goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal for the second and then scoring the third himself with a well-hit strike.

  Rodgers said: “He’s someone that we would look to commit to. The club have been talking to his representatives but I’m not aware of any movement. He is a player that we would love to keep. He is a fantastic player.”

• Celtic supporters faced major rail disruption ahead of their Betfred Cup semi-final against Hearts in Edinburgh. Fans heading for Murrayfield Stadium were turned away from full CrossCountry trains at Motherwell station.
• Celtic to play Aberdeen in final as Sevco lost 1-0 at Hampden to Aberdeen.
• Roy Aitken is inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.
• Former Rangers star Ian Durrant has landed himself in hot water after being caught on camera saying, “f*** the Pope.”
• Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers admits he spoke to Murrayfield ground staff about pitch size and length of grass. Brendan Rodgers has admitted he had a word with the Murrayfield ground staff to make sure they’ve cut the grass short. The Celtic boss was unhappy with the length of the Tynecastle grass in recent clashes with Hearts.
• Very sad day on Saturday: Leicester Chairman in helicoptor crash outside the club's ground. Initial reports are that of no survivors. Ex-England manager Glenn Hoddle has taken seriously ill whist at a tv studio. A fan died at Brighton match from suspected heart attack. RIP

Review

Teams

Hearts

• 1Zlamal
• 2Smith
• 28Dikamona
• 3Dunne
• 11Mitchell
• 5Haring
• 10Sutchuin-DjoumBooked at 87mins
• 8Lee Substituted forClareat 76'minutes

• · 7Bozanic Substituted forMorrisonat 70'minutes
• · 14Naismith Substituted forAmankwaaat 8'minutes

• 18MacLeanBooked at 2mins

Substitutes

• 9Clare
• 12Amankwaa
• 13Doyle
• 16Hughes
• 17Garuccio
• 20Cochrane
• 38Morrison

Celtic

• 29Bain
• 23Lustig
• 32Benkovic
• 35Ajer Substituted forHendryat 80'minutes

• · 63Tierney
• · 88Kouassi Substituted forSinclairat 26'minutes
• · 21Ntcham Substituted forChristieat 45'minutes

• 49Forrest
• 18Rogic
• 42McGregor
• 22Edouard

Substitutes

• 1Gordon
• 4Hendry
• 11Sinclair
• 15Hayes
• 16Morgan
• 17Christie
• 56Ralston

Referee:William Collum
Attendance:61,161

Articles

• Match Report (see end of page below)

Pictures

• Match Pictures

Forum

• Pre-match
• Match
• Post Match

MOTM

• Voting Thread
• Result Thread
• Winner –

Stats

Possession
Home36%
Away64%

Shots
Home6
Away25

Shots on Target
Home3
Away10

Corners
Home3
Away14

Fouls
Home11
Away12

Articles

Hearts 0-3 Celtic: Hoops’ second half performance too much for Jambos
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Published: 16:30 Sunday 28 October 2018
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/hearts-0-3-celtic-hoops-second-half-performance-too-much-for-jambos-1-4821033
Celtic’s sizzling second-half superiority saw them book their place in the Betfred Cup final with a 3-0 win over Hearts at BT Murrayfield.

After a fairly uneventful and goalless first 45 minutes, the Parkhead side took the lead in the 53rd minute when Gorgie midfielder Oliver Bozanic tripped Ryan Christie in the penalty area allowing fellow substitute Scott Sinclair to slam in the penalty.
Scott Sinclair celebrates after scoring the opener from the penalty spot. Picture: SNS Group
Scott Sinclair celebrates after scoring the opener from the penalty spot. Picture: SNS Group

In a unique cup semi-final at the home of Scottish rugby, James Forrest capitalised on a mistake by Gorgie keeper Zdenek Zlamal to fire in an easy second.

Christie scored a wonderful third to set up a final appearance at Hampden Park on December 2 against Aberdeen or Rangers, who play at the national stadium later on Sunday.

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has won six out of six domestic trophies since taking over at Parkhead in 2016 and this was a significant step towards a treble treble.

Much of the build-up to the game had been about the key players missing from both sides.

Rodgers made six changes to his side which started the 2-0 defeat to RB Leipzig in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Defender Dedryck Boyata was suspended but Forrest returned from a ban while central defenders Filip Benkovic and Kristoffer Ajer, midfielder Tom Rogic, defender Mikael Lustig and goalkeeper Scott Bain, in goal for the previous two ties, were reinstated.

Hearts boss Craig Levein made two changes with midfielders Olly Lee and Peter Haring in for Harry Cochrane and Callumn Morrison, who started on the bench amid a fantastic atmosphere.

Referee Willie Collum booked striker Steven MacLean in the first minute for a foul on Lustig and then skipper Steven Naismith went off injured seven minutes later to be replaced by Danny Amankwaa.

Nothing much of note happened at either end before Hoops midfielder Eboue Kouassi came off injured in the 26th minute, his place taken by Sinclair.

MacLean had the ball in the Hoops net in the 40th minute following a Lee corner which had been headed goalwards by Haring but was correctly given offside.

The Parkhead side raced up the other end and Sinclair’s drive from the edge of the box was parried behind by

Christie took over from Olivier Ntcham for the start of the second half and within seven minutes he had won a penalty when he was tripped by Bozanic, referee Willie Collum pointing to the spot and Sinclair sending Zlamal the wrong way with the spot-kick.

Celtic stepped up a gear and moments later, French striker Odsonne Edouard headed a Kieran Tierney cross over the bar.

Zlamal was at fault for Celtic’s second goal, making a hash of saving a tame

long-range effort from Christie and when he scooped the ball out to Forrest he easily returned it into the net from close range.

Christie made it 3-0 in the 72nd minute when he guided a terrific shot high past Zlamal after picking up the loose ball 25 yards from goal.

The Parkhead side were relentless.

Edouard’s curling shot from 12 yards beat Zlamal but defender Jimmy Dunne cleared off the line before the Hearts keeper made saves from Forrest and Tierney – and Sinclair was twice denied by Gorgie defenders – but by then it was academic, Celtic were on their way to Hampden again.

Celtic Football Club Statement

By: Newsroom Staff on 03 Oct, 2018 19:27
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FOLLOWING today's SPFL Board meeting, at which it was decided that Celtic's Betfred League Cup semi-final against Hearts will now take place at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Sunday, October 28, with the other semi-final between Rangers and Aberdeen being held at Hampden later the same day, Celtic Football Club has released the following statement.

The SPFL Board's decision not to hold a ballot to decide the venues of the forthcoming semi-final matches is both irrational and discriminatory.

Celtic recognised there was a genuinely difficult problem to resolve. All we asked for was equity of treatment – in other words, a simple ballot of which game went to which venue, so that all clubs would have a 50-50 chance of playing at Hampden.

We understand that those bodies consulted, including the police and broadcasters, had no preference whatsoever on which match should take place at each venue and, therefore, there was only one appropriate method of reaching a fair outcome.

The SPFL Board have been unable to produce logic or reason for turning down our modest request. Instead, they have arbitrarily decided that a chosen game should stay at Hampden and the other should go to Murrayfield.

The interests of our club and supporters have been subordinated to a diktat from the SPFL board which is as unfair as it was unnecessary.

Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell was excused from the SPFL board meeting due to the subject under discussion.

BBC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45933999
By Jamie Lyall

BBC Scotland

From the section Scottish League Cup

James Forrest scores for Celtic
James Forrest pounced on Zdenek Zlamal's glaring error to score Celtic's second goal

Celtic booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final thanks to a debatable penalty, a goalkeeping error and a 20-yard stunner that all arrived in 19 second-half minutes.

First Scott Sinclair scored from the spot when Ryan Christie went down under Oliver Bozanic's challenge.

Hearts' Zdenek Zlamal fumbled a tame Christie shot and James Forrest put away the rebound to double the lead.

Christie then stroked home a superb third goal for the cup holders.

Celtic now will meet Aberdeen – who beat Rangers 1-0 in Sunday's second semi-final – in the 2 December showpiece at Hampden as Brendan Rodgers targets a seventh domestic trophy in a row.

'Sensational' Christie seizes chance – but what next?
Hearts undone by 'two body blows'

Celtic get job done when they need to

The prelude to this tie was all about the players Celtic were missing – captain Scott Brown, centre-backs Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic, and goalscorer Leigh Griffiths.

But it was Hearts who lost their leader and fulcrum after just seven minutes, Steven Naismith pulling up off the ball with a leg problem and limping off.

The Premiership leaders were lucky not to lose Steven Maclean, too, with the striker surreptitiously grabbing a very delicate part of Eboue Kouassi's anatomy at a corner having already been booked.

The first half was a bit of a grind, but it sputtered into life near the end, Maclean having an effort disallowed after bundling in while several yards offside, before Zlamal tipped a vicious Sinclair shot past.

Eight minutes into the new half, the holders had their breakthrough, but in contentious fashion.

Christie jinked past Bozanic, then hit the deck. It was a glancing touch, but enough for referee Willie Collum to point to the spot.

Sinclair stuttered, sent Zlamal the wrong way, and stroked the ball low into the net for his third goal of the season.

Reaction & as it happened
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Celtic had the lead and they began to motor. Their passing was crisper. Tom Rogic, an imperious presence at the heart of it all, pirouetted and loped and swaggered forward with growing menace.

They duly got their second goal, although it came from a horrible Zlamal mistake. The Czech allowed Christie's tame 18-yard shot to slip beneath him. He pawed it back out from the goalline – it might, in fact, have crept over – but Forrest was waiting regardless to gleefully slam the ball beyond the goalkeeper.

There was nothing Zlamal could do about Celtic's third, though. Christie ran on to Odsonne Edouard's flick, and from just outside the box, arrowed a sublime effort high into the top net. Game over.

Edouard had chances to make it four. Zlamal redeemed himself a little with a miraculous stop to thwart Forrest, then parried clear a Kieran Tierney strike. Sinclair also had two shots cleared off the line.

A day that began with such hope and vigour for Craig Levein's Premiership leaders ended with Celtic rampant.

Again, domestically, they got the job done when it mattered. Again, in a huge cup tie played against a thunderous backdrop, facing a team at the top of their game, they delivered.
Bobby Zlamal
Bobby Zlamal made two fine saves, but his mistake will likely prove more memorable
'Plaudits must go to Rodgers' – analysis

BBC Scotland's Brian McLauchlin at Murrayfield

The early action failed to live up to the magnificent atmosphere generated by the 60,000 plus fans inside Murrayfield but there is no doubt Hearts losing Naismith was pivotal.

But the plaudits must go to Celtic manager Rodgers. His decision to replace Eboue Kouassi with Scott Sinclair was a major turning point and the introduction of Ryan Christie was huge, too. The Hearts rearguard was completely unable to cope with his pace and directness.

In the second half, Celtic looked like the team who have lifted six domestic trophies in succession. And it will be a warning to their opponents that they were able to put three past the league leaders.