SPL Sunday December 26th 2005

Hearts 0

Celtic 2

0:1 McGeady 9
0:2 Petrov 68 subs

Att: 16,163

MIB: Mike McCurry

Celtic: Douglas McNamara Balde Varga Laursen Petrov Lennon Thompson McGeady Sutton Hartson

subs none

This was an unexpectedly easy victory at the Edinburgh Biledrome with the two nil score line flattering the Farts. The team's lassitude after the Euro exit has gone and self belief looks to be back.

Lennon and Varga were rocks, while Sutton and Hartson terrorized the Jambos relentlessly. How Hartson didn't come away with a hat trick is a mystery. Even with Rab D back in goal, Hearts hardly made a chance in the entire 90 minutes.

Celtic's opener on 9 minutes was a tribute to a McNamara and Petrov combination, allowing Stan to cross for McGeady to net with a near carbon copy of his debut back post goal earlier in the year at Swinecastle. Misses from Hartson and Petrov prevented Celtic going three up by 30 minutes.

This continued into the Celtic half as Celtic dominated the Maroon clad cloggers, with Big John and McGeady missing gilt edged chances. It took until the 68 minute mark before Stan found the net with a ferocious drive after yet another Sutton knockdown. Game over!

A third still eluded Celtic at the death, when Hamill headed a Hartson effort off the line.

There was a certain smug satisfaction on the whistle, as the aspirant maroon bigots supreme, who constantly tried to outdo their Govan kin with sectarian and racist chants over the 90 minutes, traipsed off home, tails between legs to the sound of real football songs from the Celtic end.