PRE-MATCH COMMENT:
Was not looking forward to this game with too much optimism and that didn't change when I saw that O'Dea & Naka were out but looking forward to seeing how Flood plays. Would settle for a draw.
BORUC 6 Had very little to do and was beaten by a superb free kick but why, oh why does he always show so much of his left side of the goal to the opposition player?
HINKEL 6 He was up against Wallace and Driver and overall did well in curtailing their runs.
McMANUS 5 Was correctly booked early on for one of his out of the box rash challenges and never really looked too sound but that may well be due to the ankle injury which prevented him from re-appearing for the second 45mins.
LOOVENS 6 Not a failure but one of those displays which make you wonder why GS paid 2.5m for him.
CALDWELL 6 Started the game in midfield (I don't think Celtic have won a SPL game when he started off in this position) and was o.k. but looked more comfortable back in his central position.
NAYLOR 6 Replaced the injured O'Dea and gave 100%. Was unlucky that none of his surging forays into the Hearts defence resulted in a goal.
FLOOD 4 Really disappointed that again he did not take the advantage to replicate his Dundee U form. Perhaps he's being affected by playing for the team he supports?
BROWN 5 One of his anonomyous games in which tried but had no real influence and what was happening around him. Lost out in the personal battle with Stewart.
McGEADY 6 Not his day, partly because he was tightly marked but also his inability to know when to release the decive pass.
JVOH 5 Even though he scored the all important goal I can't give him more than 5 simply because he very rarely showed the class that a Celtic forward should have.
McDONALD 5 The little guy tried hard but there were too many instances when his one touch control and passing was so poor.
Subs
CROSAS 6 MOM Came on at half time as a result of McManus being injured. Brought a composure to the team immediately by his calmness and ability to be 'friends' with the ball.
MIZUNO 5 Had one chance to score the winner and although he struck the ball well he just did not put any bend on the shot.
NAKA 5 Brought about an improvement to the quality of Celtic's play but I wasn't upset as a result of GS's decision to rest him. Had a chance to score the winner on two occassions
Referee (Thompson) 6 His big mistake was in not awarding Celtic a penalty when Stewart raised his arms to prevent the ball hitting his chest.
GAME: 7 One of the best performances I've seen from a Hearts team particuarly in the first half.
COMMENTS: 1. I think the decision by GS to omit Crosas was a key factor in the way the game panned out.
2.. I can't remember a 45mins in which Celtic were so outplayed, outfought and outmuscled. The game ended up with Celtic only having 45% possession (the lowest fig for this year and probably the lowest since GS took over).
3. A draw was a fair result and will be surprised if Rangers do any better when they visit Tynecastle.
Goals 1 A good ball into the box by Hinkel which was met by JVOH's leg and within 30 secs Celtic were one up.
2 A doubtful free kick resulted in a wonderful strike by Aguilar which Naka could not have improved upon.
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