Celtic beat Heart of Midlothian 3-0 to edge closer to the league leaders: SPL recap
A brace from Gary Hooper inspired Celtic to a 3-0 win over Heart of Midlothian in a Scottish Premier League encounter at the Tynecastle Park on May 11, 2011. The Bhoys now drift the league leaders http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Rangers-c40314 by a solitary point.
Jim Jefferies made wholesale changes to the Midlothian squad from the 4-0 loss at the hands of Rangers recently. Calum Elliot started upfront as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation. On the other hand, Celtic also made several changes to their starting line-up
from their last outing. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Georgios-Samaras-c14641 and Hooper started upfront in a 4-4-2 formation.
The game took off at a steady pace as both teams looked to make early inroads. Celtic dominated the early possession and almost scored in the 5th minute of the game. Samaras and Hooper combined beautifully before the latter had a shot saved from
the host’s goalkeeper.
After applying the early pressure, the visitors opened the scoring in the 12thminute. Kris Commons charged into the hosts’ box before dispossessing Marius Zaliukas, and the midfielder slid the ball into the box for Hooper to tap in to make it
1-0 for Celtic.
Moments later, the Celts should have doubled their advantage but http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Daniel-Majstorovic-c10011 headed over the bar from Commons throw over the corner. Neil Lennon’s side continued their dominance as they created host of scoring opportunities in the opening half hour.
Commons rattled the bar with a long range effort and the rebound was nudged wide of the far post by the Scot.
The host’s defender, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Charlie-Mulgrew-c8844. Hearts played the game in their own half and could not trouble the visiting goalkeeper in the opening 45 minutes.
The second-half started in the same fashion as the hosts scored just five minutes into the second period. Ki Sung-Yueng played a lovely ball to Hooper, who slammed the ball past Marian Kello to make it 2-0 for the Bhoys.
The visitors continued to pile up the pressure as Kello made several splendid saves to keep the hosts in the game. The Hoops finally scored their third goal to seal the game, as Commons buried a perfect cross from Hooper into the net to make it 3-0. Commons’
fantastic evening was marred by an immediate red card, as the Englishman was shown the marching orders for celebrating the goal in-front of the home fans.
The Celts sealed the game after a comfortable game and set-up a thrilling finish to the season.
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