A lack of cutting edge cost Celtic dearly as a Hearts smash and grab sent them into the Scottish Cup final after spending most of the game under the cosh. A controversial last minute penalty by Craig Beattie put Hearts through after an equally controversial equaliser from Celtic four minutes from time.
Celtic completely dominated the first half but had nothing up front to exploit their possession or territorial advantage. Hearts best opportunity of the game came within the opening seconds when Kelvin Wilson was carless with a back pass which was collected by Elliot but Fraser Forster came to the rescue.
Celtic then took over and bossed Hearts comprehensively but could not find a way to open the Hearts defence. Lustig headed over from Kris Commons free kick after the full back was fouled. Midway through the half Commons and Samaras combined to release Mulgrew who crossed from the win for Hooper who should have scored with his header from 8 yards but could not find the target.
Commons nipped onto a short back pass 10 minutes from half time but his touch to take the ball behind goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald was too heavy. Commons had Celtic’s first attempt on target five minutes from the break with a shot from 23 yards but MacDonald saved comfortably.
Ki had two incredible chances in the game, both unmarked back post headers at the end of each half. With 44 minutes gone he struck the upright from 4 yards when he should have scored, an outcome that would be repeated towards the end of the game.
Craig Beattie was introduced at half time and immediately changed the pattern of the game. Two minutes into the second half he played-in Rudi Skacel, benefitting from a ricochet off Kelvin Wilson. Skacel rounded Fraser Forster and shot high into the net.
The goal seemed to break Celtic’s spirit as Hearts created several chances in the opening 20 minutes of the second half. Skacel shot from 35 yards, forcing Forster into a good save. The same player then shot wide after a knock down from Beattie.
Andy Driver dispossessed Michael Lustig just after the hour but Glenn Loovens came to the rescue and conceded a corner. Craig Beattie then played a one-two with Driver before shooting narrowly wide.
Neil Lennon changed Celtic’s shape in an attempt to get back into the game, replacing Samaras with Anthony Stokes and Celtic were soon back in the ascendency. Hooper linked with Stokes on 66 minutes but the Irishman’s shot was deflected wide.
Stokes then headed over from a Ledley cross and had an attempt from 13 yards after Mulgrew cut back to him.
On 82 minutes Ki should have levelled after Kris Commons chipped a free kick towards the back post by the Korean midfielder headed against the post again.
Anthony Stokes should have equalised with five minutes remaining when he got onto the end of a Mulgrew header but he could not turn the ball goal-wards.
A minute later Dylan McGeogh fed Joe Ledley who moved the ball onto Charlie Mulgrew. Mulgrew crossed for Gary Hooper who headed home from 4 yards but the Celtic striker was in an offside position when the cross was played.
In the 90th minute referee Euan Norris awarded Hearts a penalty kick when the ball struck Joe Ledley’s arm when struck from less than 2 yards from him while he was trying to turn his back on the ball to block. Ledley’s arm was not at his side but it was not in an unnatural position either, nor was there even the remotest suggestion of a deliberate act. Beattie struck the penalty straight down the middle as Forster dived to his left.
The last few frantic moments of the game offered further opportunities for Celtic. A Ledley volley was saved before the ball struck Andy Webster inside the Hearts box but the referee wasn’t interested on this occasion.
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Prb,
‘Halfway to Paisley’ – was that Johnny Cash or Tammy Wynette? Maybe you’ve a C&W fan trying to break out.
S
Apologies if you thought the above was offensive
antrimkev
I get your point, but if the ball had hit a flying pig in the Celtic area the MSM would have called Norris a brave ref who gets the big decisions right – I just don’t think the gif proves anything. Beattie didn’t think it was a pen. What a sportsman.
shady on 16 April, 2012 at 00:23 said:
Haldway to Paisley, was that no’ Billy Fury?
Bloke109 is Neil Lennon on 16 April, 2012 at 00:25 said:
the gif proves nothing – nether Ledley or big vic were penalties, i wasnt saying that mate
the thing is the gif gives what the msm, sfa and norris need – Ledley stokes and lenny have said that he gave the penalty because Big VIc handled it – well he did (msm speak there)
Norris has the get out of jail card
PS – Hidden Hand of Timdom enthusiast Roy Orbison hasn’t forgotten to serenade the huns goodbye:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMc263klrMQ (thumbsup)
Was ‘Billy Fury’ the original punk?
Feeling a bit too mellow tonight – must be the stultifying effect 7 hours on the M6 today. Looking forward to getting back to a home game and a championship presentation to come. Not bad for a bunch of bottlers.
S
An absolutely atrocious penalty award but the inclusion of Ki in major games is holding this team back.Two sitters aside once again he failed to impose himself on a game where our midfield had to be spot on.
Bloke109 is Neil Lennon on 16 April, 2012 at 00:25 said:
How you doing ???
Obviously, we are at the opposite end to hearts pen, and someone, not me , will check how many pens they get? Every week while watching… hearts seemed to get pens,…. A SMALL STADIUM, GREETING LIKE BANSHEES?
As much as we were poor???
Sorry, try living without, and have fun…
shady on 16 April, 2012 at 00:30 said:
Was ‘Billy Fury’ the original punk?
Maybe in britain, but Gene Vincent probably was.
philvus,
nice to have the opportunity to respond to you, I have read your musings for years.
There is no one like this man in my opinion.
He is to me, one of the the greatest Celts of all time.
Only Brother Walfrid and Tommy Burns are ahead of him.
There is someone else though, who we should also hold in great esteem.
Another man who is a single issue issue guy. No lazy stereotypes, but strong, well articulated beliefs based on facts. A man who said whatever he thought with conviction and elequence on any particular issue regardless of the audience.
Both looked at the situation, looked at the facts and aired their opinions without prejudice.
I am beginning to understand the bond between the great Neil Lennon and the late Paul McBride.
TJ
.
CQN Scottish Cup Final Away Day to Blackpool..?
.
Right Who fancies a Sammi Shammy Shuttle to Blackpool on Cup Final Day 19th May..
I dare say The Blackpool Shamrock would Make us all Welcome and we Could dress in Green and Support Hibernian Celtic..
If l Get Enough Names I’ll Run a Bus..Day trip or Overnight..
Would be a Great way to End a Great Season..
Maybe invite Neil Lennon down for a Drink.. God knows he deserves One..
Summa
Neil played a blinder bringing another match fixing scandal to light, that nearly got brushed under the carpet.
All the news outlets have already reduced the game to editorial opinion, had Neil not made the decision to go very public, we’d be nothing but paranoid support, even after all thats passed.
The result is tainted by cheating officals, this is a major scandal in any other walk of life, well except for Lennon haters and we’ve got plenty of them on here tonight.
has anybody got gifs? of Ki’s 2 headers?
besides the fact the fact, especially the 2nd where he had the whole goal to his right to head it into and tried the harder angle….
my dad has told me in the replays he closed his eyes for both headers and you can see this
is it true? or has he had 1 to many?
I wonder if the people telling Neil to calm down are the same people who said Tony Mowbray was too passive? Wouldn’t surprise me.
Tricoloured Ribbon,
Brutal analysis mate.
If Ki heads half an inch one way or other he is the hero. He is also, as it happens, a truly magnificent footballer, Celtic are lucky to have him. He will one day play for Real or Barca, his passing technique and game awareness leaves every single one of his team mates in the shade. A wee bit like Paul Lambert, when he goes abroad and wins the Champions League we will know how good he is. And he is 22 by the way, not 30.
Neil is trying to find a system to get the best out of him and this giant of a man deserves our patience.
Hail hail pal,
TJ
Summa, I’m in.
TJ
Tommy Joad – Thank you, my friend in Celtic.
I agree with you re: Mr McBride.
I think we’ve been incredibly lucky with the people we’ve had over the years, both dyed in the wool Celtic men and later-in-life coverts.
Mr Lennon has suffered a more hostile press and public than any manager before him in Scottish football’s more than 100 year history.
I can’t wait to see him lift the league trophy. (thumbsup)
NEIL LENNON, GO NUCLEAR,
or
CELTIC BOARD….
Here we go again..’
AGAIN???
antrimkev,
I reckon yer da is right and I said the same to my son.Instead of putting his forehead through the ball he has allowed it to sclaff off the side of his head and missed two utter pinches.Absolutely no excuse for that.Shocking.
TJ,
ha ha ha ha ha, best laugh of the day
Tommy Joad on 16 April, 2012 at 00:40
Ki is a terrible player
slows everything down, strolls about and for a guy at 6 foot plus is as hard as my last slash
if we were to get 2-3 million i would take it in a heartbeat – barca or real really?
im thinking more Wigan or Bolton
ki tried to nod both in, had he met them head on he would have score two exactly like big Loovens last week.
Still disappears too often
Summa
I’ve pencilled in Sunday 20th for CQN Golf day, will be sending email tomorrow morning. Just FYI ;-)
hh
bjmac
Hamiltomtim
First of all I support the hoops not an individual who whips the delusional into a frenzy about referees in order to to disguise his own shortcomings
Secondly the championship is not tainted but worthless in my eyes as it has been gained by an administrative sanction rather than a manager who has been able to get the better of his counterpart on a footballing front . If the same man had been able to overcome the likes of Ross County Inverness Caledonian Thistle Sion Kilmarnock Hearts and a Huns
team led by that world renowned striker Elbows McCulloch he might have stirred some passion in my heart but he wasn’t able to
And I reserve the right to celebrate when I want to not when a an effin Internet blog demands that I do
Tommy Joad
No I don’t think the manager should be sacked but he should relocated as director of social outings
stinking hun
Neil Canamalar….
Your comments relate to my post on Ki ??
If so, better men than me have verified what I say, but you seem to know better…….???????
Apologies if your comments don’t relate to the Player of the Continent of Asia and happy to continue to converse on this one in detail.
TJ
TJ,
yep, the invisible man thats who we are talking about, and a lot better men than you have verified what I say, looks like you cant be that good :oD)))
What has happened to this blog when you get imbeciles like mickbhoy1888 posting and getting responses. Did we not previously ignore these hun idiots and who masquerade as Celtic fans.
HT – you should know better ! ;-)
hh
bjmac
shady . we are all original punk rockers but yours is a good call . heve i told ye that we are championees yet? big smiley face thing
Tommy J,
With respect mate that is utter hogwash.Every time we play in an important game,be it at Ibrox,Tynecastle or an an important match where we go behind he is found wanting and has never rescued this team when we are in the face of adversity.Sorry but 10 yard square passes simply dont do it for me.He hasn’t the speed or drive to get past an opponent and trying to excuse those misses today is laughable.We are missing the main man in that department,Beram Kayal.
Real or Barca? You’re at it here mate.
Stay strong Neil, your enemas abound.
so strong
.
Courtesy The Scotsman..Without the Pic of Neil Snarling..
Celtic 1 – 2 Hearts: Neil Lennon vents semi-final fury on Twitter
Published: 16 April 2012
Neil Lennon vents his anger at Euan Norris
CELTIC manager Neil Lennon could face a fourth SFA disciplinary charge in as many weeks after an angry reaction to his team’s Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Hearts at Hampden.
He also took to the social networking site Twitter after the match to claim two crucial penalty decisions that went against his team were “personal”.
Lennon marched on to the pitch to confront referee Euan Norris at full-time, remonstrating with the official over the controversial ending to Hearts’ dramatic 2-1 victory, sealed by a Craig Beattie penalty which initially seemed to be awarded for handball against Joe Ledley. It later emerged that Norris told Celtic players he saw the ball strike Victor Wanyama’s hand after it rebounded from Ledley. Lennon was also upset with Norris waving away Celtic’s penalty claim for handball against Hearts defender Andy Webster in the dying seconds of the match.
Lennon already has three disciplinary cases pending, all of which he is contesting, and will face a Judicial Panel hearing at Hampden this Thursday. He was cited by SFA Compliance Officer Vincent Lunny for his post-match criticism of referee Willie Collum’s failure to award Celtic a penalty in their League Cup Final defeat by Kilmarnock on 18 March.
Lennon was then sent from the technical area at half-time by referee Calum Murray during Celtic’s 3-2 defeat by Rangers at Ibrox seven days later, before being written to again by Lunny for comments about the referee ahead of the home game against St Johnstone on 1 April.
Post-match media duties at Hampden yesterday were left to first-team coach Alan Thompson, although Lennon did take to Twitter later in the day to hint at a vendetta against him. “Referee told players he thought Wanyama handled … feel so sorry for players and fans … I think it’s personal myself,” read his tweet.
Lennon later re-tweeted a comment from a Celtic supporter which suggested the club “pack our bags and get out of this league that is run by crooked SFA officials”.
He continued to rage on Twitter, accusing a Manchester United supporter of talking “clap trap” when he suggested Celtic striker Gary Hooper had been offside for Celtic’s equaliser, and dismissing as “nonsense” a comment by a Celtic fan that the team “shouldn’t be relying on decisions, the players weren’t good enough”.
Thompson was also critical of Norris’ decision making yesterday, insisting he should have awarded either two penalty kicks or none at all.
“I think they are very similar,” said Thompson. “I’ve seen them again three or four times. If he gives it at one end, then he has to give it at the other end, too. Yes, they have struck the hand. Was it deliberate in both instances? No, I don’t think it was. So it’s just inconsistency. If he gives one, then he really has to go up the other end and give that one. But he hasn’t. Yet again we think we’ve been done with a big decision In the League Cup Final we were denied a stonewall penalty.”
Asked if Lennon had not attended the media briefing as he wished to avoid talking about the referee, Thompson replied: “Quite possibly, yes. I think Neil has been in to see the referee after the game, but I wasn’t there so I don’t know what was said. We are all angry. We have just lost a semi-final with 92 minutes on the clock. It’s frustrating.”
Thompson also claimed Hearts midfielder Ian Black should have been sent off for a dangerous challenge on Joe Ledley after just 21 minutes. “I’ve seen the tackle and it’s a bad one,” added Thompson. “It was over the ball, over the top. Joe Ledley is quite lucky he’s got away with it. He (Black) got a yellow card which, in my opinion, is wrong.”
When it was suggested Celtic were also fortunate to benefit from a poor decision when Gary Hooper equalised from an offside position, Thompson said: “Yes, but not as fortunate as Joe Ledley is not to have broken his leg.”
Thompson denied Celtic suffered any hangover from their SPL title winning celebrations the previous week and expressed his satisfaction at the level of the team’s performance.
“It’s the highs and lows, isn’t it?” he said. “We were on a high from last week. We had a good week’s training and then the disappointment today. In the first half, Hearts frustrated us a bit. They sat in with 11 men behind the ball and made it difficult.
“In the second half, they came out and had a bit more of a go. They changed their formation a little bit and went 1-0 up. But credit to us, we got back in the game. I felt we did okay today. We played really well, without creating enough chances in the first half. But Ki hit the post at the end of the first half and again in the second half.
“Hearts made it difficult. Teams sit in against you, get bodies behind the ball and play narrow. It’s difficult to break them down. But on the whole, we are happy with the way we played. We were not disappointed at the way they played in the League Cup Final and we’re not disappointed in the way they played today. Yeah, we haven’t played to the heights we have reached previously in the season. But semi-finals and finals are tight occasions.
“We quite possibly deserve more than the league title from this season but the league title is all they are going to get. They are worthy champions. They’ve had a long nine or 10 months. They’ve won the league so comfortably with five games to go and no-one can take that away from them.”
Summa
time for rebellion peeps! ftsfa
.
Re; Dossier..
From Twitter so take it with a Pinch of Pepper..
@Henriklubo: RT@lambo_no5 MattMcGloneCeltic r going in team handed legally on 19th & I know they’ve evidence that cld implode on SFA in major fashion!
Summa
Tommy Joad,
Canamalar OK?
Only if he still disnae let huns into his house!!
BTW, they wurnae allowed in our close…
punkrockbhoy on 16 April, 2012 at 00:54 said:
shady . we are all original punk rockers but yours is a good call . heve i told ye that we are championees yet? big smiley face thing
Doesn’t Gene Vincent get a mention at all?
mickybhoy 1444 or watever u call yerself . u are def not a punk rocker
.
BJmac..
How are You Buddi.. Will be back for the Glasgow Derby.. Is there a CQN outing in May if so Lock me in..
Hope Yir Guid..
Summa