Celtic 5-0 Hearts

It was the Gary Hooper show as a five goal performance by Scottish football’s top scorer this season lit up a wet and windy Celtic Park on trophy day.  Two poachers’ goals inside the opening 8 minutes had the capacity crowd celebrating.  The opener came after Hearts’ keeper Jamie MacDonald saved a Kris Commons shot but Hooper was on hand to knock home the rebound.

The crowd had only just settled from that goal when Georgios Samaras broke down the left channel and squared a pass for Hooper to knock into the empty net.

Celtic were awarded a penalty six minutes before the break when Joe Ledley had his ankle clipped inside the box.  Gary Hooper, not a prodigious scorer from the spot, smashed the ball straight down the middle and into the net.

David Templeton was unable to hit the target midway through the second half with what turned out to be Hearts only attempt at goal all game.

Hearts conceded cheaply on 66 minutes when Kris Commons found the unmarked Hooper inside the box who gratefully converted for his fourth.

By now it was all about whether we would see Hooper score a fifth, a feat most of us had never witnessed by a Celtic player before.  He duly obliged two minutes from time when he rounded the exposed MacDonald and slotted the ball home before the late-arriving surge of Hearts defenders.

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