Scottish Premier League/Hearts 3-0 Celtic: Hearts are 90 minutes away from securing a place in the Champions League qualifying round for the first time, after a comprehensive victory over the Scottish Premier League champions Celtic.
A home win over Aberdeen on Wednesday night will ensure Hearts finish the season as the SPL's second-placed side, and even that will be unnecessary if Rangers fail to beat Hibernian at Easter Road tomorrow.
Two early goals - a Stephen McManus own-goal and a superb free-kick from Paul Hartley - had Hearts supporters believing the holy grail of the Champions League was within touching distance. However, Celtic had recovered from exactly the same deficit in their last visit here on New Year's Day to snatch a 3-2 victory, so Valdas Ivanauskas's players didn't relax until Roman Bednar added a third.
Rangers' 3-1 win over Kilmarnock on Saturday had reduced to one point the gap between the teams chasing second place, after there had been 16 points between them last Christmas. It undoubtedly worked in Hearts' favour that Celtic had the championship sewn up long before yesterday's encounter but meetings between these old foes are seldom dull and the home side's display should not go without recognition.
McManus was the two-goal hero in that New Year meeting but now the young Celtic defender headed past his own goalkeeper Artur Boruc from a powerfully driven Hartley free-kick to hand Hearts an early opener. Hearts surged forward and Hartley sent a swiftly taken free-kick high to Boruc's left only two minutes later as Celtic toiled.
Rudi Skacel struck a drive off the post as the home side sought a killer third goal but Roy Keane missed a glaring opportunity to hand his side an avenue back into the game when he shot straight at Craig Gordon from three yards. Such wastefulness typified Celtic's afternoon.
Hearts were more clinical and Bednar collected a succinct reverse pass from Hartley before clipping the final goal of the day over the advancing Boruc.
Gordon produced a magnificent save from the substitute Stilian Petrov in the dying stages but the post-match debate focused on claims by the Celtic captain Neil Lennon that Skacel had attempted to spit at him midway through the second half.
Skacel, who was at the centre of a similar controversy during a match against Dundee United in February, vehemently denied Lennon's accusations.
Wales striker John Hartson has confirmed he will remain at Parkhead next season, when it seems almost certain Celtic's city rivals will be confined to a season without Champions League involvement.
HEARTS: Gordon, Neilson, Pressley, Tall, Fyssas, Cesnauskis,Hartley, Aguiar, Skacel, Bednar, Jankauskas. Subs: Banks, Berra,Pospisil, Wallace, Brellier, Barasa, Driver.
CELTIC: Boruc, Telfer, Varga, McManus, Wilson, Nakamura, Keane, Lennon, Maloney, Dublin, Zurawski. Subs: Marshall, Thompson, Hartson, Pearson, Petrov, Wallace, McGeady.
Referee: A Freeland (Scotland)
