Hearts 0: 4 Celtic

If anyone was in any doubt about Celtic’s focus and mentality then it only took a few minutes of pressure and a subtle finish from Lassad Nouioui to calm any nerves. Following the yawnfest of MoanGate, it was clear from the off that Lenny and his Lhads were right up for showing the world just how good they really are.

A surprise line up saw celtic start with Charlie Mulgrew at left back with Mikel Lustig at the right berth and Adam Matthews on the bench. In the middle Kelvin Wilson returned to partner Efe Ambrose and they stood in front of the Goalkeeping Wizard Gandalf Forster. In the middle Kayal and Wanyama lined up alongside Kris Commons and Joe Ledley who made a welcome return.  Up front was the real surprise with lassas starting alongside Gary Hooper.

Celtic took the game right to Hearts and Commons was the thorn in the Jamboes side as he drove forward or looked to feed his advancing fullbacks in Lustig and Mulgrew.  Hearts tried their best to beat back the Celtic advances but it was soon clear that this was Men against Bhoys. The first goal was a peach and came on 10 minutes when Commons sent a great diagonal ball  over the Hearts defence to the advancing NouiNoui.  Lassad strode forward onto the cross and  once again showed his ability to finish under pressure  as he  calmly directed the ball inside the near post of the Hearts keeper MacDonald.

This first goal was the perfect start for Celtic and with the fans singing loud and proud the side smelled blood and went for the Tynecastle sides jugular. Wave upon wave of attack saw Celtic bomb forward in search of the second. It eventually came after some great work down the wing saw Lustig dive in and slide the ball home for Celtics second. The third wasnt long in following it when Charlie Mulgrew drove the ball back across from the left and Stevenson of Hearts diverted into his own net. That took us to half time and the game was effectively over. Celtic would evntually score a 4th late in the scrappy second half.  Gary Hooper tapped home from a perfect  cross after a fine determined run down the wing by Muldhino.

Hearts manager John McGlynn felt the final 4-0 scoreline didnt read true and to be fair it wasn’t ALL Celtic. Sadly for Hearts they were witnesses to one of the great Goalkeeping performances of this or any season. Fraser Forster stood up to all Hearts could throw at him, at one point making a truly unbelievable double save from Stevenson  and then Marius Zaliukas’s.  Forster would also defy  a Zaliukas  penalty near the end of the game with a brilliant low dive to his right.

Throughout the whole game Forster was [erfect. He commanded his area, came and captured or punched clear every crosss and at no point did any Celtic fan or player feel that Hearts would get passed our man at the back. As everyone watched the immense performance from the Celtic keeper the Twitter gag doing the rounds was that Wigan Fans were singing “Youre just a poor Fraser Forster” to Joe Hart during their game against Man City.

After the game, Lenny and the team took their applause and duly returned salutes to the fans. The Celtic fans sang loud and proud and no doubt the copious amount of Police who were standing right in front of our followers had a great night listening to such funny songs such as “Youre gonna die like the Rangers!”.  The TV Cameras tried their best to mix it by showing a Flare alight in the Celtic end but more concerning was the hearts fan dressed as Jimmy Saville in a Hoops top…stay classy Midlothian!

All in all it was a perfect showing from celtic. A goal each for both the front men, no major injuries or sending offs, despite Willie Collums hopes!, and a rest for some key personnel. Its onwards to Arbroath and then Spartak and if we can repeat this latest performance then we have nothing to fear

Etims MOTM : Fraser “You shall not pass” Forster

Ratings

Forster – 9.5 – Just a collossus between the sticks. Thank you Allan Pardew.

Mulgrew – 8 – Bombed up and down the park  and was calm at the back. Made 2 goals.

Wilson – 7 – Steady, just what we need! Madcap tackle to give away penalty which made us all laugh.

Ambrose – 7 – Cleared lines and crazily booked by Collum for standing close to a Hearts player going nowhere!

Lustig – 7 – Great runs, scored and also calm defending. Most improved player of the season with Wilson?

Commons – 8 – Drove Celtic towards victor. Played Keepy Up at a bounce up and had Hearts raging and Celts howling with laughter. Was clearly well up for the game and

Ledley – 7 – Steady and calmed the ship.  Does the ugly work so very well.

Wanyama – 7 – Not his most influential game but blocked Hearts when needed.

Kayal – 7 – Played the Brown “headless chicken” role and annoyed Hearts no end with tackles and drive

Hooper – 7 – Scored his goal well and while quite quiet is gaining valueable match time in prep for Spartak

Nouioui – 8 – Great finish to start the party and some fine play. More he plays better he looks, futures bright.

Subs

Matthews – 5 – Replaced Lustig and kept it error free

Brows – 6 – Replaced Ledley and enjoyed himself as he wound up Hearts players and fans

Samaras – 5 – Replaced Lassad and saw out last 10 mins easily enough

Manager – 9

Brilliant Managerial performance. Great decision playing Lassad from the start and clearly really had his players motivated for what can often be a tough game.