| Match Pictures | Matches: 2002 – 2003 | 2002-2003 Pictures |
Trivia
- John Hartson helped himself to a fantastic festive hat-trick as the champions turned up the heat on Rangers at the top of the SPL.
- With Rangers slipping to defeat at Motherwell, the champions now trail by just one point in the title race.
- With Scotland goalkeeper Rab Douglas picking up an injury during the warm-up, Magnus Hedman was introduced to the Celtic starting line-up for the first time since early September
Review
With just four minutes gone, Stephen Boyack swung in a cross from the right and De Vries squeezed in between defenders Joos Valgaeren and Ulrik Laursen to head home from close range.
Henrik Larsson almost drew Celtic level after 13 minutes after a great run had left several Hearts defenders bewildered but goalkeeper Roddy McKenzie was wise to the striker's attempted chip shot.
McKenzie did well to push away a header from Bobo Balde after 20 minutes but Hearts were punished from the resultant corner when Hartson rose unchallenged to score with a powerful header.
Celtic's pressure paid off with the first half drawing to a close and it was Hartson who was on target again. Stilian Petrov tried his luck with a shot from 20 yards following a corner and the his scuffed shot broke kindly to the Welshman, who calmly rounded McKenzie to stroke home his 16th goal of the season.
McKenzie was called into action right after the restart when a clever cut back from Chris Sutton found Larsson but the Hearts keeper was able to push away the striker's shot on the turn.
Larsson went agonisingly close to scoring when his deft lobbed effort went inches wide of the Hearts' goal.
However, just a few seconds later Hearts were on level terms and De Vries was again on target.A neat move involving Jean-Louis Valois and Boyack saw the tall striker break into the box and slip a neat shot with the outside of his boot past Hedman.
The small band of Hearts fans were still celebrating when Hartson completed his hat-trick and restored Celtic's lead. A long searching ball from Alan Thompson just inside the Hearts half found Hartson 15 yards out and the burly forward dispatched a glorious volley to give McKenzie no chance.
Larsson added a fourth goal when he unlocked the Hearts offside trap to latch on to a Sutton pass after 73 minutes and nonchalantly dribbled round McKenzie to score.
Soon after, Sutton was denied by a goal-line clearance as his header powered towards the net.
Teams
Celtic:-
Hedman, Valgaeren, Balde, Laursen, Agathe, Lambert, Sutton, Petrov, Thompson, Larsson, Hartson.
Subs not used:- Maloney, Mjallby, Smith, Crainey.
Goals:- Hartson 22, 44, 68, Larsson 73.
Booked:- Thompson.
Hearts:-
McKenzie, Maybury, McKenna, Pressley, McCann (Mahe 82), Weir, MacFarlane (Hamill 79), Stamp, Boyack (Simmons 74), Valois, de Vries.
Subs not used:- Gordon, Severin.
Goals:- de Vries 4, 66.
Booked:- McCann.
Att:- 58,450
Ref:- H Dallas.
Articles
Pictures
Stats
| Celtic | 4-2 | Hearts |
| 8 | Shots On Target | 2 |
| 3 | Shots Off Target | 6 |
| 10 | Fouls (Conceded) | 12 |
| 12 | Corners | 4 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
Thursday, 26 December, 2002, 16:51 GMT
Hartson hammers brave Hearts
Hartson scored a hat-trick
Celtic's John Hartson rounds Roddy McKenzie to score
Celtic 4-2 Hearts
BBC
A hat-trick from John Hartson helped Celtic crush the brave challenge of Hearts at Parkhead and close the gap on league leaders Rangers.
With Celtic's Old Firm rivals slipping to defeat at Motherwell, the champions now trail by just one point in the title race.
Hearts went in front through Mark De Vries and the same player brought his team level at 2-2 midway through the second half.
However, Hartson, who's third goal was a wonderful volley, was the hero of the day, while Henrik Larsson added to his season's tally.
With Scotland goalkeeper Rab Douglas picking up an injury during the warm-up, Magnus Hedman was introduced to the Celtic starting line-up for the first time since early September.
John Hartson scored a hat-trick
Hartson heads home his first of the day
And the Swedish international was soon picking the ball out of the net as Hearts stunned the home crowd with an early goal.
With four minutes gone, Stephen Boyack swung in a cross from the right flank and De Vries squeezed in between defenders Joos Valgaeren and Ulrik Laursen to head home from close range.
Henrik Larsson almost drew Celtic level after 13 minutes after a great run had left several Hearts defenders bewildered but visiting goalkeeper Roddy McKenzie was wise to the striker's attempted chip shot.
McKenzie did well to push away a header from Bobo Balde after 20 minutes but Hearts were punished from the resultant corner when Hartson rose unchallenged to score with a powerful header.
McKenzie dealt comfortably with a low raking shot from Didier Agathe, while Hartson made a mess of a good opportunity inside the six yard box.
Celtic's pressure paid off with the first half drawing to a close and it was Hartson who was on target again.
Stilian Petrov tried his luck with a shot from 20 yards following a corner and the Bulgarian's scuffed shot broke kindly to the Welshman, who calmly rounded McKenzie to stroke home his 16th goal of the season.
McKenzie was called into action right after the restart when a clever cut back from Chris Sutton found Larsson but the Hearts keeper was able to push away the striker's shot on the turn.
Hearts were unlucky not to draw level after 55 minutes when Hedman was forced to make two excellent saves following an almighty scramble in the Celtic penalty box.
Mark De Vries celebrates his early goal
De Vries netted twice for Hearts
Ten minutes later, Larsson went agonisingly close to scoring when his deft lobbed effort went inches wide of the Hearts' goal.
However, just a few seconds later Hearts were on level terms and De Vries was again on target.
A neat move involving Jean-Louis Valois and Boyack saw the tall striker break into the box and slip a neat shot with the outside of his boot past Hedman.
The small band of Hearts fans were still celebrating when Hartson completed his hat-trick and restored Celtic's lead.
A long searching ball from Alan Thompson just inside the Hearts half found Hartson 15 yards out and the burly forward dispatched a glorious volley to give McKenzie no chance.
Larsson added a fourth goal when he unlocked the Hearts offside trap to latch on to a Sutton pass after 73 minutes and nonchalantly dribbled round McKenzie to score.
Soon after, Sutton was denied by a goal-line clearance as his header powered towards the net.
Celtic: Hedman, Valgaeren, Balde, Laursen, Agathe, Lambert, Sutton, Petrov, Thompson, Larsson, Hartson.
Subs Not Used: Maloney, Mjallby, Smith, Crainey.
Booked: Thompson.
Hearts: McKenzie, Maybury, McKenna, Pressley, McCann (Mahe 82), Weir, MacFarlane (Hamill 79), Stamp, Boyack (Simmons 74), Valois, de Vries.
Subs Not Used: Gordon, Severin.
Booked: McCann.
Attendance: 58,450
Referee: Hugh Dallas