Celts won’t go away
Fireworks continue on and off pitch in quest for Treble
Never mind the pyrotechnics.
This Celtic team are here to stay under Ange Postecoglou – and their dream of a Treble party is still very much on.
At Tynecastle yesterday they lit up this Scottish Cup tie to continue their sparkling form and book a place at Hampden for the semi-finals.
The Hoops fans unveiled a banner before kick-off that read: ‘ They’re not going away you know’ – before letting off green, white and gold smoke bombs in the away end.
It was in response to police warning clubs all over the UK to crack down on the use of pyro in stadiums.
And just like the flares, Celtic aren’t going away in their quest for a domestic clean sweep this season. Goals from Aaron Mooy,
Kyogo Furhuhashi and Cameron Car ter- Vickers secured a comfortable win against Robbie Neilson’s side.
If it wasn’t for Jambos keeper Zander Clark, it could have been a far bigger margin of victory.
And with the Premiership title looking like it’s in the bag, Celtic moved a step closer to grabbing all three trophies this term.
Skipper Callum McGregor picked out Aussie midfielder Mooy for praise and admitted the early goal doused the fire in the Tynecastle stands.
He said: “Yeah, outstanding. The way he and Reo Hatate connect in the middle of the pitch is really good for us. We always try to connect the game with short passes and those two are never too far away from each other.
“You see in tight areas as well they can take the ball and manipulate it and get us up the pitch. Aaron has become a big player for us.”
McGregor also pointed to a key moment in the game, pinpointing a brilliant first-half save from keeper Joe Hart when Celtic were 1- 0 ahead.
The Parkhead captain said: “That’s what your goalkeeper is there for. You’re not successful as a team if you don’t have a big keeper that can make saves at vital times in the game.
“If they got a goal then the game could have changed so it was an outstanding save.
“The players congratulated him at half-time because we knew it was a big moment.”
If you needed reminding of the task facing Hearts yesterday, a glance at the seats BEHIND their dugout confirmed it.
Neilson couldn’t even fill his bench, such is the extent of his Tynecastle injury list.
Their captain and talisman Lawrence Shankland was ruled out before kick-off, which was a body blow for the Jambos.
Then you’ve got Craig Gordon, Craig Halkett, Beni Baningime, Peter Haring, Robert Snodgrass, Gary Mackay- Steven, Liam Boyce, Stephen Humphrys and Yutaro Oda all out of contention. That’s a player short of an entire team – so the Jambos gaffer and his patched-up side were up against it.
In contrast, Postecoglou was spoilt for choice, despite Daizen Maeda and James Forrest being absent with knocks.
And one thing you can guarantee with Celtic these days is a fast start.
That’s why there are no excuses for the Jambos’ approach in the first few minutes.
They must have known the Hoops would be quick out of the traps.
It’s their trademark.
But Hearts were laboured and pedestrian from the off – then found themselves a goal down before they’d even got going.
After 30 SECONDS, Hatate got free in their box and hit a vicious shot that forced
a cracking save from Clark. That was their warning but Hearts didn’t heed it.
Inside two minutes, Celtic got in front – and Aussie defender Kye Rowles won’t want to see the goal again.
He completely misjudged a through ball in the left channel and allowed Jota to get in behind the defence.
The Portuguese winger got his head up, picked out Mooy in the box and the Socceroos star made his countryman pay with a clinical and controlled finish.
It was a strike right out of the top drawer from a player in the form of his life.
If Hearts faced an uphill battle before the game, they now had to climb Mount Everest to reach the semi-finals.
To their credit, they eventually settled into the tie. When they put Celtic under pressure, they got a bit of joy – but it didn’t happen often enough.
Their golden chance of the half fell to big Toby Sibbick.
His swivel-and-shot in the box from a James Hill knockdown was striker-like.
But Hoops keeper Hart got down low to pull off a terrific stop.
That ignited the Gorgie crowd but Postecoglou’s side were still in control.
Heart’s were deploying a back five but, with Kyogo up front on his own for Celtic, their two centre-halves, Hill and Rowles, weren’t involved or engaged in the game enough, which allowed the Hoops to dictate.
Clark came to their rescue by denying Hatate again from close range as they looked certain to get to half-time just one down.
But how often do you see a team switch off just before the break? Alistair Johnston got to the byeline, fizzed in a cross and Kyogo – who’d barely had a touch for 45 minutes – got in front of his marker to deftly f lick the ball beyond the Hearts keeper for 2- 0.
It was the nightmare scenario for Neilson who had so few options to change things.
Clark was at least keeping them in the game.
In the second half, Johnston and Kyogo linked up to put Jota clean through – but the Scotland shot-stopper stood big to thwart the Celts’ strikeforce again.
He was helpless for their third goal, though, as his defenders went missing in front of him.
Sub Matt O’Riley’s free-kick found Carter-Vickers six yards out and, unmarked, he had the simple task of nodding home to kill the tie.