SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE/Celtic 2 Hearts 0:IF THE focus at the start of this match was on Robbie Keane making his home debut for Celtic, by the end it was on the club's manager, Tony Mowbray. The loan signing from Tottenham Hotspur failed to score but Mowbray will not care much about that after a second-half showing in which his side showed the sort of vim which has been regularly lacking since he took charge last summer.
As Rangers stumbled to a 1-1 draw at Motherwell, this was an occasion when Celtic at least made up ground on their rivals. After collecting maximum points at Parkhead for the first time in four matches, Mowbray need not fret about further hints of crisis. Predictions Keane’s presence would ensure a full house proved wide of the mark. However, the attendance was larger than has been usual during a disappointing season to date for Mowbray.
Hearts’ lack of punch and Keane’s first home appearance should have given Mowbray cause for optimism, yet Celtic opened in edgy fashion. Keane cut a frustrated figure after being caught offside three times in succession.
It took 25 minutes for Celtic to create their first meaningful opportunity, but Scott Brown was denied by a superb Marian Kello save before Marc-Antoine Fortune’s shot on the rebound was deflected over the bar. Keane then had a good opportunity but Kello denied him. Hearts showed a first hint of menace through their debutant Paul Mulrooney. Artur Boruc was motionless as the teenager deflected a Michael Stewart effort and Celtic’s goalkeeper was relieved as the ball flew narrowly wide of his upright.
But the only real excitement to punctuate a flat first-half arrived with the whistle which brought it to a close. A frustrated Aiden McGeady kicked the ball into the air and the referee Brian Winter booked the winger before Mark Venus, Mowbray’s assistant, remonstrated with the official as the teams left the field.
Whether that bizarre melee instilled some vigour into their ranks, Celtic were roused at the start of the second period and two goals within 60 seconds virtually assured maximum points. Glenn Loovens was the unlikely first goal scorer, the central defender capitalising on woeful Hearts marking to stab home a Diomansy Kamara corner. McGeady’s driving run created the second, Marc-Antonie Fortune collecting the resulting pass and dispatching the ball under Kello. Hearts had been fatally wounded. The appearance of Portsmouth manager, Avram Grant, an associate of Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov, among the visiting directors hardly augured well for them.
Keane missed two late, if not particulary easy, chances.
CELTIC: Boruc, Caddis, Thompson, Loovens (Rogne 62), Braafheid (Ki 77), McGeady, Brown, N’Guemo, Kamara, Keane, Fortune (Samaras 80). Subs Not Used: Zaluska, Rasmussen, Crosas, McGinn. Booked: McGeady.
HEARTS: Kello, Jonsson, Kucharski, Zaliukas, Lee Wallace, Mulrooney (Santana 73), Black, Michael Stewart, Obua, Nade (Glen 74), Stevenson. Subs Not Used: Balogh, Witteveen, Ryan Wallace, Balatoni, Smith. Booked: Mulrooney, Zaliukas, Jonsson, Black.
Referee: B Winter (Scotland).
