BRENDAN RODGERS’ Celtic side stepped onto thin ice at frosty, frozen Tynecastle last night.
The champions had the opportunity to go three points clear and an incredible 11 of Rangers after events earlier in the day had fallen in favour of the Hoops.
The Dons folded 2-1 against St Mirren in Paisley while Philippe Clement and his players trooped off the Ibrox pitch to a resounding and sustained chorus of boos and jeers after drawing 1-1 with Dundee United.
In these circumstances, a team can often find a banana skin and blow the chance to take advantage.
THE CELTIC VIEWS…Brendan Rodgers delivers his verdict to the club’s TV after the Tynecastle triumph.
Not this Celtic team, though. They came through a difficult first-half against a determined Hearts outfit to thunder in four goals after the turnaround to seal an emphatic 4-1 triumph.
Former Celtic favourite Craig Gordon made a few excellent saves, but the Scotland international keeper had to admit defeat when Kyogo Furuhashi, playing in his 150th game, snapped onto a ricochet from his original effort off the netminder to fire the visitors ahead.
Nicolas Kuhn rattled in another sweet left-foot drive for No.2 and substitute Adam Idah added to the Hoops joy and the home side’s misery with a double, one from an unstoppable penalty-kick.
As he reflected on the action and the response of his players after the international break, a beaming Rodgers said: “I’m very pleased. To come to Tynecastle and win 4-1, with only 500-plus supporters in the stadium, it was a great victory for us.
“I thought we were very good in the second-half. Once we figured out their press and structure, because in the first-half they surprised us a little bit with how they pressed the game, so we didn’t quite get out as quickly as we wanted to.“But once we took the team through that at half-time, and looked at their positioning, we were much better in the second-half.”
The Irishman, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “We’ve seen it in this team now for a period of time, they have that consistency now to soak up pressure when we need to defend well.
CAPITAL SHOW…Brendan Rodgers gives the thumb’s up to the 500-plus Celtic fans after the victory.
“But our positioning with the ball just allowed them to press us just a little bit too easy, so we didn’t quite get that right.
“We had some really good moments in the first-half, but gave up the ball just a fraction too cheaply.
“However, it’s also the nature of this group, they want to learn, they want to be better.”
Rodgers added: “Also, coming on the back of such a long, long trip for some of the players – when you think about Ali Johnston, two games away, coming back, travel time in different time zones, having to adjust and train with the team on Friday.
“Auston Trusty likewise, the Japanese boys, travelling halfway around the world – it’s absolutely incredible what they gave this game.”
The manager and the players can enjoy a welcome rest today and then it all starts again with the visit of Club Brugge in matchday five of the Champions League at Parkhead on Wednesday evening.
FOURMIDABLE CHAMPS GET ALL-CLEAR
