Match Pictures | Matches: 2019 – 2020 | 2019-20 Pictures |
Trivia
- Midweek game, rare full set of SP matches being played today (bar one Aberdeen game)
- Celtic go 10pts ahead in league title race.
- Sevco lose 2-1 to Killie away, but have a game in hand (so 7pts behind at minimum for Celtic). Does this end the league title challenge? Mountain to climb but long way to go, but big advantage for Celtic. "I thought we had the mentality and the characters to sustain a push but on the evidence of the last four-five weeks I'm getting proven wrong," Stevie Gerrard
- Gerrard can’t even say “Celtic” “You have to look at the form of, erm, mmm, other people”
- Ntcham getting plaudits for tonight, game not on TV.
- Five different scorers but none of them were Celtic's strikers! Big positive, and the strikers did have a good game.
- Hearts manager Daniel Stendel is adamant too many clubs travel to Celtic Park with damage limitation in mind as the Hearts head coach vowed to go on the front foot at the home of the champions.
- Former Celtic star Jackie McNamara (Jr) rushed to hospital after collapsing outside his home, one report has it that there was some bleeding on the brain. We wish him a full & speedy recovery. Latest is that he is "awake and talking" after undergoing surgery to treat a suspected bleed on the brain. His father also played for Celtic, and both are well respected in Scottish football.
- A 12-year-old boy was charged with directing racist chants at Morelos at last match v Sevco, correct a 12 year old (big strong police who have ignored full repertoire from Sevco fans).
Cheap low & disgusting shot from Sevco, with their PR releasing an official statement on their website after police revealed a 12-year-old boy has been charged with directing racist chants at Alfredo Morelos during the Rangers match against Celtic at Parkhead last month. It was quickly pulled and much criticised. Lot of criticism with some (Ewan Murray & Graham Spiers) breaking ranks and criticising Sevco PR. Speirs even named Jim Traynor as culprit. - Celtic have stated not cooperating with Sky TV at present following their recent coverage relating to the Morelos Interview with the mistranslated comments. Celtic have reported them to the regulator. We've pulled co-operation with them on Matchdays and could likely incur financial penalties as a result
- Odsonne Edouard: “The defeat against [Sevco] did us more good than harm. We had to question ourselves, but, once we returned from Dubai, we knew we had to bounce back and that it would be hard to do so, but right now it’s going well.”
Review
AgentScotland on Twitter:
Fantastic second half performance from Celtic, Callum McGregor and Olivier Ntcham were tremendous, Ryan Christie was outstanding when he came on, Taylor really came onto a game, 5 going on 8 or 9, five goals and Odsonne Edouard had a quiet night, frightening quality on display.
Celtic boss Neil Lennon is keeping a lid on it after a very good night for his side.
"First half was a bit sloppy but the second half was emphatic, a great goal for Callum McGregor and great deliveries from set-pieces," he tells BBC Sportsound.
"It's just another game ticked off. There's still a long way to go.
"It gives us a bit more of a margin but things can flip at any time. I'm just delighted with our performances at the moment."
Daniel Stendel admitted his Hearts players resembled rabbits in the headlights during the 5-0 defeat by Celtic. The manager bemoaned a loss of confidence as his team's 1-0 interval deficit increased by four more goals in the second half.
(QA of KDS)
Hearts did play pretty well in the first half. They were always vulnerable to a ball over the top thanks to the kamikaze defensive line, but they generally snuffed the space out in the middle and wide pretty well. There were a couple of phases where we were pegged back as well.
In the second half, after the goal, there seemed to be a complete surrender of the wide areas which meant we had total freedom to get the ball into the last third without much pressure on it, and really, Hearts were all at sea. The changes the manager made didn't work at all.
There's something kinda commendable in coming and having a go, but when you are shipping three goals against Kilmarnock and St Johnstone you probably need to look at what you're doing.
Some of our play was absolutely tremendous. I hadn't really appreciated the great team play for McGregor's goal at the game itself. When you're able to bring Christie, Elyanoussi and Rogic off of the bench you are in a very good place. We have a certain level of flexibility in formation and set ups as well. The only limiting factor is probably right back at the moment as Bauer is garbage. When Frimpong and Elhamed are back we are certainly going to have a lot of options.
(Fatboab of KDS)
Another great night at the football.
First half was a bit cagey, with. hertz pressing well and causing us a few problems, but the goal really settled us. Early second half strike put us into overdrive and from there , the wee Huns couldn’t live with us. We must be terrifying to play against when we hit our stride, and 5 was just about right, even though I forecast 6.
Taylor continues to improve, Ntcham and McGregor bossed midfield and Elyanoussi looked lively.
Events at Rugby Park just put the seal on a great night. All ours if we want it bad enough now.
Teams
Celtic
- 67Forster
- 35Ajer
- 5SimunovicBooked at 27mins
- 2Jullien
- 49Forrest Substituted for Elyounoussi at 72'minutes
- · 8Brown
- · 42McGregor
- · 3Taylor
- · 21Ntcham
- · Substituted forRogicat 78'minutes
- · 9Griffiths Substituted for Christie at 64'minutes
- 22Edouard
Substitutes
- 10Bayo
- 13Bauer
- 15Hayes
- 17Christie
- 18Rogic
- 27Elyounoussi
- 29Bain
Goals
- Ntcham (30' minutes),
- Jullien (46' minutes),
- McGregor (52' minutes),
- Christie (67' minutes),
- Simunovic (80' minutes)
Hearts
- 23Castro Pereira
- 8Clare Substituted for Langer at 45'minutesBooked at 86mins (red card)
- · 26HalkettBooked at 76mins
- · 4Souttar
- · 17Garuccio
- · 2Smith
- · Substituted forMooreat 70'minutes
- · 40Irving
- · 21McDonald Substituted forWashingtonat 29'minutes
- · 14Naismith
- · 10WalkerBooked at 32mins
- 29Boyce
Substitutes
- 1Zlamal
- 9Washington
- 19Ikpeazu
- 22Damour
- 27Moore
- 32Langer
- 99Avdijaj
Referee:
William Collum
Attendance:
57,431
Articles
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Stats
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Possession
Home54%
Away46%
Shots
Home22
Away5
Shots on Target
Home12
Away2
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Home10
Away6
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Away16
Articles
Celtic 5 – 0 Hearts: Champions pull ten points clear as Hearts remain rooted
Andrew Smith
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Published: 22:17
Updated: 23:06 Wednesday 12 February 2020
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For the past couple of weeks, pundits have continually hammered on about how there were sure to be to more twists and turns in this Premiership title race even as Celtic stretched out in front.
As any sort of race effectively ended last night with Neil Lennon’s men establishing a ten-point lead, it turned out they were sort of right.
Goalscorer Olivier Ntcham battles for possession with Hearts' Craig Halkett. Picture: SNS
Goalscorer Olivier Ntcham battles for possession with Hearts' Craig Halkett. Picture: SNS
As Rangers have twisted in the wind these past few weeks – losing at Kilmarnock was the latest failing – Celtic have turned the screw in almighty fashion. In doing so, Lennon’s team are surely in an unassailable position in their pursuit of a ninth straight title.
Goals, lots and lots of goals, have got them there. Their 5-0 thrashing of a Hearts side that fell to pieces as abjectly as teams propping up leagues tend to do, means they have now scored as many this season as they did in the whole of their last league campaign – in 12 fewer games. And four more than they did across the entirety of their 2017-18 championship win.
Celtic are simply unstoppable, and were so even as they produced one of their more uneven performances. Hearts, in spells across the opening period, were effective and competitive.
Ultimately, none of this amounted to a hill of beans, though, as the Scottish champions handed out yet another beating to a Tynecastle team taking root at the bottom of the Premiership.
Meanwhile, Lennon’s men are imperious at its summit. And their eighth straight win since the break – and a 16th victory from their past 17 league games – demonstrated precisely why their advantage over Steven Gerrard’s men is set to be decisive.
They have so many ways to unpick opposition defences, there is an inevitability that they won’t just find one, but many. Daniel Stendel’s side collapsed like a house of cards when Christopher Jullien rose – while no-one in maroon bothered to do so – to head in a corner invitingly swung his way by Leigh Griffiths for Celtic’s second.
It didn’t matter from that point that, in a chess game of a first half, Hearts had moved their pieces around with sufficient fluidity to close down spaces that Celtic hadn’t opened up with their usual alacrity.
In the final analysis, Stendel’s team were powerless to prevent the nine-in-a-row-chasing Parkhead side breaching their defences five times when also spurning a hatful of opportunities.
This Celtic team have such an unquenchable thirst for goals because right now they have any number of personnel desperate to sate such appetites. Had you told Stendel his team would be the first this year to avoid coughing up a goal to either Odsonne Edouard or Griffiths, he might have thought he would be on to something. But Celtic are relentless in their multi-faceted ability to demolish opponents.
Their latest such evisceration was started courtesy of Olivier Ntcham’s third goal in five games, for which hapless Hearts keeper Joel Pereira should be given an assist. Edouard twisted to make space for a shot that shouldn’t have troubled the on-loan Manchester United man. It did because he slapped it straight to Ntcham as if passing it to him. Ntcham fired it back with interest and, despite the Portuguese keeper getting a hand to it, seized his gift.
When Jullien made it 2-0 within seconds of the restart, Hearts became as porous as a colander in the face of a Celtic attacking tsunami. Callum McGregor broke forward down the right to exchanges passes with Greg Taylor before lashing a low drive towards goal that found the net via a deflection in 52 minutes, and, from then, it could have been any score, Lennon’s men having twice had efforts off the woodwork.
James McFadzean has a shot at goal during a match between Raith Rovers and Clyde at Stark's Park in January 1963
27 stunning archive photos of Scottish football grounds in the 1950s and 1960s
The Celtic manager was able to mix up his team and he did so to punishing effect for Hearts, with Ryan Christie claiming his first goal of 2020 within five minutes of his 62nd-minute introduction. He did so with a snapshot that clipped Craig Halkett to loop up over Pereira. The scoring was completed when, in the 79th minute, Hearts gave Jozo Simunovic all the freedom he needed to head in a Christie corner but the misery was not then over for Stendel’s sorry side.
Two minutes from time, substitute Marcel Langer slid in late on Scott Brown. Referee Willie Collum had no hesitation to brandish a red card. It is code red for this Hearts team, with one league win in 14 now. Whatever Stendel is attempting to do, it simply isn’t having the desired results. In contrast, Celtic, now further ahead of their Ibrox rivals than this time last year despite all the froth about possible last-day finishes, are a green machine that no team in the country can live with.
Neil Lennon taking nothing for granted despite ten-point Celtic lead in title race
Andrew Smith
Email
Published: 23:00
Updated: 23:07 Wednesday 12 February 2020
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/neil-lennon-taking-nothing-for-granted-despite-ten-point-celtic-lead-in-title-race-1-5089822
Neil Lennon maintains his Celtic team will “take absolutely nothing for granted” even as Wednesday night seemed pivotal in the club’s quest for a ninth straight title.
A second half blitz of Hearts to secure a 5-0 win, coupled with Rangers’ 2-1 defeat by Kilmarnock, allowed the Scottish champions to extend their lead to 10 points over the Ibrox side who have played a game fewer.
Celtic boss Neil Lennon thanks Olivier Ntcham for his contribution as the midfielder leaves the field. Picture: SNS
Celtic boss Neil Lennon thanks Olivier Ntcham for his contribution as the midfielder leaves the field. Picture: SNS
The contrasting league fortunes of the Glasgow clubs since the winter break – Celtic having won all six of their Premiership fictures as Rangers have lost two and drawn one – refused to lead Lennon to make any grand claims about the state of play on a night that ended with the Celtic fans celebrating with deafening chants of “here we go, ten-in-a-row”.
Asked about his message for a club support who believe another title is in the bag, the Celtic manager picked his words carefully, and made no mention of the burning issue.
“You’re amazing, thank you for your support and we’ll do all we can to keep entertaining you. They’re the best fans in the world as far as I’m concerned,” he said, having earlier reflected on the ten-point gap.
“It gives them a bit of confidence. We have a tricky game on Sunday at Pittodrie. Aberdeen had a great win [against Hamilton on Tuesday] and we’re taking absolutely nothing for granted.”
Asked about the turnaround since losing at home to Rangers in the final game before the winter shutdown – which allowed Rangers to move within a point of their rivals having played a game fewer – Lennon said: “That’s the way football goes. We kept calm and we just do what we do best conscientiously, behind the scenes, with the support network there. You can see the players’ fitness levels are very good. The squad is looking stronger as well.
“They were magnificent [against Hearts] – the desire and hunger to play, scoring goals, their running. Everything you want as a manager from a team I got. It was an emphatic win and an outstanding second-half performance.”
Hearts manager Daniel Stendel claimed his team lacked belief, even as they gave Celtic a few scares in an encouraging opening period that gave way to a desperate capitulation.
“I want to try and give the players the feeling we have a chance,” he said. “Our plan was good but our game wasn’t like our plan. We played like rabbits in the headlights. From the first moment you could see the look. We tried to change our confidence on the pitch with the substitutions from Washington on the pitch then we conceded.
“After this we played a little bit better and we wanted to keep it in the second half but five minutes into the second half the game went against us. It is very difficult for us to keep our confidence and stay together but it’s the one and only way for us in difficult moments. It was a very difficult night tonight but we must stay together and look forward to Saturday.”
BBC
By Martin Dowden
BBC Scotland at Celtic Park
From the section Scottish Premiership
Highlights: Celtic 5-0 Hearts
Celtic took a significant step towards a ninth title in a row after thumping Hearts to move 10 points clear in the Scottish Premiership.
Neil Lennon's side stretched their winning run since the winter break to eight – and 17 in 18 league games – while Rangers lost at Kilmarnock.
Olivier Ntcham opened the scoring, and that lead was doubled seconds after the break by Christopher Jullien's header.
Goals by Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie and Jozo Simunovic added further gloss.
Rangers have played one game fewer but now find themselves further behind than at any other stage this season.
Hearts carved out some good chances themselves, but Fraser Forster denied Jamie Walker on multiple occasions to maintain his clean sheet, and substitute Marcel Langer was shown a late red card.
Daniel Stendel's side remain one point behind Hamilton Academical at the foot of the table, and host the Lanarkshire club on Saturday.
Celtic 'taking nothing for granted'
Reaction & as it happened
Celtic ruthlessly charging to title
In the end, this was an annihilation and the scoreline could have been much higher.
Celtic are ruthlessly charging to the league title and their supporters know it. They were delirious as full-time approached. It isn't over but increasingly looks odds-on.
The breakthrough in this one took a little time. Stendel's approach could be either interpreted as brave or reckless, but seemed to give Celtic the chance to cut the visitors open, with James Forrest handed numerous chances to punish them.
He didn't, but the opener did come when Odsonne Edouard fired a shot at Joel Pereira, which the goalkeeper simply parried to Ntcham rather than divert wide. The midfielder finished calmly to reinforce his recent impact.
You feared the worst for Hearts but they began to create chances with Celtic increasingly sloppy and the formation switch looking effective.
They ought to have been punished though before half-time when Edouard slipped Leigh Griffiths in, but the striker misfired and hit the side netting. It mattered not on what looks like a decisive occasion.
Stat
Things absolutely imploded for Hearts immediately after the break. Julien rose unchallenged at a corner to power a header home, with Pereira stranded on his line.
The French defender is an imposing figure, who is making a positive contribution at both ends of the pitch for the champions. The centre-back they have been crying out for.
Another corner nearly caught Hearts again with both Simunovic then Scott Brown striking the same post.
The third arrived when McGregor drove away from a Hearts midfield that was posted missing. He regained the ball from Greg Taylor and fired home into the corner.
Celtic's strength in depth was cemented when Christie came off the bench and bagged his 19th of the season from a tight angle, before Simunovic added another.
On a night of misery for Hearts, substitute Langer was ordered off after a reckless lunge, with the despair for the Tynecastle side in contrast to the delirium around Celtic Park.
Lennon's side look utterly relentless. The games are ticking down and the goals are flowing ominously. They will take some stopping on this form. The Celtic crowd certainly think so.
Man of the match – Callum McGregor
There are so many Celtic players delivering consistently in this magnificent run.
Edouard is often unplayable and links so well with Griffiths. McGregor is back in the goals, and as is Ntcham. Forrest chips in, and as does Jullien from the back.
The mentality, quality and application is evident across the squad as they chalk up win after win.
You could argue numerous cases but McGregor stood out in this game. His contribution is often overlooked but he is a top operator who offers so much, capped with another goal in what turned into a rout.
'Relentlessness and hunger' – reaction
'Title race could flip at any time' – Celtic boss Lennon
Celtic manager Neil Lennon: "I couldn't have asked for any more from the team. To beat a team as good as Hearts with an emphatic scoreline like that was very pleasing. There was a relentlessness and a hunger about them in the second half.
"It gives us a little bit more of a margin to lean on [after Rangers losing]. It's a long way to go and it could flip at any time. We're not counting our chickens and getting carried away. I'm just delighted with the performances being put in at the moment."
"It was a hard night for us but we can only look forward. We hoped to take maybe a point here but with that performance we had no chance. We will try and stay together. That is our only chance."