HEARTS 3 CELTIC 1
CELTIC got lost in a blunderland as they capitulated in the capital to Hearts this afternoon.
The champions now trail the Edinburgh side by an extraordinary EIGHT points so early in the campaign and they were turned over on this occasion – their second consecutive loss in a week – due to some utterly horrendous defending.
Main culprit was young Dane Murray who gifted the hosts the lead and then followed up that dreadful error by making a clumsy challenge that presented grateful opponents a penalty-kick. Lawrence Shankland netted to make it 3-1 and kill the contest.
Overall, this was a monumentally unacceptable display by Brendan Rodgers’ side with way too many players not up to the challenge.
And others who just weren’t equipped to overcome the task.
It’s not easy to be successful when the team is overloaded with passengers.
HOWLER…Dane Murray (extreme left) blasts Hearts into the lead with a dreadful miskick to beat the helpless and stunned Kasper Schmeichel.
There was a lifeline at one stage when Callum McGregor came to the team’s rescue as they attempted to get back on track following a horrendous own goal howler from Murray to go in level at the interval.
The champions responded superbly to the loss of the hosts being handed an eighth minute opener by the Hoops youngster who was standing in for crocked Cameron Carter-Vickers.
A ball over from the left was knocked back into the centre where Cláudio Braga rose to thump a header that looked destined for Kasper Schmeichel’s top left-hand corner of the net.
However, the Danish legend leapt spectacularly across his line to push the ball off target and it fell to Shankland on the right.
He whipped in a low cross and, unfortunately for the visitors, Murray showed a complete lack of composure as he swung his left leg at the ball and walloped it into his own net.
It was a horrible piece of defending and it was a dreadful start for the visitors in a game where they were without Alistair Johnston and Daizen Maeda as well as Carter-Vickers.
JOY BHOY – FOR THE TIME-BEING…Callum McGregor celebrates his equaliser.
The Hoops attempted to reply within moments and Liam Scales sent Johnny Kenny running clear in the box. Unfortunately, he lost possession all too easily to Craig Halkett and the chance was gone.
It was captain marvel McGregor who provided the answer with a neat equaliser in the 12th minute. It was a sweet move from Celtic as Benjamin Nygren played a ball in from the right to the team’s onfield leader and he switched it left to Sebastian Tounekti.
The Tunisian knocked it in front of the rampaging Kieran Tierney and his low ball was perfect for McGregor to sweep past the stranded Alexander Schwolow for a welcome equaliser.
And it should have been even better in the 38th minute when Nygren blew the opportunity of netting a second goal for the visitors.
Reo Hatate and Tounekti combined on the left to present an opportunity for the Swede, but he tried to be too clever and his dinked effort from six yards was clawed away by the frantic keeper.
He should have burst the net – and his look of horror mirrored the thoughts of his manager, team-mates and fans.
CELEBRATIONS…Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney enjoy the skipper’s leveller.
And the mistake came back to bite Celtic seven minutes after the turnaround when Hearts took the lead – once again through some astoundingly lacklustre defensive play.
Alexandros Kyziridis was allowed to drift in from the left with Colby Donovan slow to sense danger and, fairly bizarrely, Arne Engels practically got out of the way of the winger’s shot from just outside the box.
The effort zipped low past Schmeichel to his right and the keeper had every right to berate the players in front of him for their feeble attempts to nullify the menace of the opponents.
Within 95 SECONDS of hat goal, Murray blundered again to present the opponents a third when he lunged into a daft mistimed challenge on Braga that saw the Portuguese go to ground too quickly.
Referee Steve McLean had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, VAR agreed with the onfield decision and Shankland rattled a low drive past Schmeichel at his right.
On the hour mark, James Forrest, Shin Yamada and Michel-Ange Balikwisha were introduced to the action as they replaced Hatate, Kenny and Tounekti.
It was a surprise to see the Tunisian winger make way as he looked eager and menacing plus the Belgian contributed zilch. There was no argument that the Japanese and Irishman deserved the hook.
STRANGE MANOEUVRES ON THE PARK…Arne Engels performs some bizarre strange defending as Alexandros Kyziridis fires Hearts into a 2-1 lead.
Ten minutes later, Luke McCowan came on for the disappointing Nygren whose first-half miss could yet come back to haunt him.
In the 79th minute, Engels was booked for a foul on Cammy Devlin. It was the only noteworthy thing the £11million Belgian did all day.
McCowan was inches away from pulling one back moments later with a low drive that hurtled inches wide of the left-hand post with the keeper beaten.
It was one of only a couple of times the Hoops threatened in a dreadful second-half.
That just about summed up yet another game to forget in a season that is threatening to disappear down a black hole.
TEAM: Schmeichel; Donovan, Murray, Scales, Tierney; Nygren (sub: McCowan 70), Engels, McGregor, Hatate (sub: Forrest 60); Kenny (sub: Yamada 60), Tounekti (sub: Balikwisha 60).
