2017-08-05: Celtic 4-1 Hearts, SP

Match Pictures | Matches: 2017 – 2018 | 2017-18 Pictures

Trivia

• First game of the new season, Celtic going for seven in a row.

  

• Scott Brown to unfurl the league title winners flag, he is in his testimonial season, so a fitting tribute.
• The Hearts manager sacked just before the first league game of the season. His side KO’ed from the League Cup in the group stages, and it was coming. So Ian Cathro sacked after just 8mths. Wasn’t fully a surprise, criticism was building already.
• Not much atmosphere at the gam as the Green Brigade secton was empty following recent temporary ban/suspension.
• Hearts interim head coach Jon Daly says Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers' comments about his club were "unacceptable".Rodgers said in the build-up to Celtic's 4-1 win over Hearts that he had "real empathy" for sacked Hearts head coach Ian Cathro. "I'm extremely disappointed," said Daly. "The fact that he's commenting on the structure of our football club, when he knows nothing about it." We all laughed back at him. Brendan subtly puts Daly back in his lowly place. "Yeah well,he's not a manager yet
• Aberdeen Ko’ed from Europa League, sadly end of the match was marred with riot police attacking Aberdeen fans. The match itself was interrupted when supporters of Apollon Limassol threw flares onto the pitch.
• Celtic handed home tie against Kilmarnock in League Cup
• Celtic drawn within Astana (Kazakstan) in Champions League Playoffs.
• Celtic centre-back Erik Sviatchenko has been ruled out of the Champions League play-offs due to injury from match v Rosenborg.
• Kyle Lafferty could face retrospective punishment after appearing to swear at Celtic fans following his substitution in Saturday’s 4-1 defeat. The ex-Rangers striker appeared to be showing his middle finger to a group of fans situated beside the away dugout.
• Transfers:
• Brendan Rodgers has ruled out signing a new central defender. Appears to have ended any prospect of former England defender Steven Caulker being recruited.

Review

(h of KDS)
A really good performance and a result that flattered the diets.

Griffiths was exceptional, McGregor buzzed about creating things all afternoon and Sinclair was a constant threat. Credit to Bitton to who in the last couple of games has made it look his natural position is centre back.

Some encouraging play from Ntcham. Think there's more to come from him and even with Hayes, just need to get upto speed with their invincible teammates.

Some great one touch play at times. The build up to Griffiths second was brillaint. A joy to watch.

A special GIRFUY to Kyle Lafferty, Queen EBT Budge and the dislikable interim manager Jon Daly.

Easy
(pawel B of KDS)
Very Comfortable,as expected. Pretty sharp today. Hearts were told to kick the team off the park. Daly is the new gary locke/barry ferguson in the making.
Part of the old crew who think kicking someone off the park is more worthy than a cheer than a good passing move. Griff was terrific, loves the attention being on him hahah
Sinclair, forrest and mcgregor all had periods when they were quality. Ntcham is interesting, good passing and vision but will need to be coached to travel with
the ball and push forward to support the attack more often. Overall piss easy.

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Stats

Celtic
Hearts

Possession
Home69%
Away31%

Shots
Home17
Away4

Shots on Target
Home7
Away3

Corners
Home9
Away5

Fouls
Home9
Away21

Articles

Celtic 4 – 1 Hearts: Easy work for Celtic against hapless Hearts
Celtic's Leigh Griffiths opens the scoring. Picture: SNS/Craig Williamson
ANGUS WRIGHT

Published: 14:19 Saturday 05 August 2017
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/celtic-4-1-hearts-easy-work-for-celtic-against-hapless-hearts-1-4523222
Celtic began their quest for seven-in-a-row with a comfortable 4-1 win over Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park on the day Scott Brown unveiled the League flag to begin the new Ladbrokes Premiership season.
Leigh Griffiths netted the opener, being played onside by Rafal Grzelak, and Scott Sinclair added a second minutes after the interval when he tapped home from a corner. Griffiths netted his second from close rangers before Callum McGregor rifled in a shot from outside the box. Esmael Goncalves came off the bench to pull a late goal back for the Jambos.

Celtic captain Scott Brown unfurls the Ladbrokes Champions flag before the match against Hearts. Picture: SNS/Craig Foy
Hearts, under the interim management of Jon Daly, came to contain with starts for youngsters Liam Moore and Brandon. The home side dominated possession, finishing the half with more than 70 per cent of the ball.
Yet, despite the effortless passing of Olivier Ntcham, Celtic struggled to break down a resolute Hearts backline. But with the constant menace of Griffiths, Hearts couldn’t allow their focus to slip.
That’s what happened when Grzelak was caught deeper than his fellow defenders, allowing Nir Bitton to pick out the number 9 with a raking pass. Griffiths saw his first effort stopped by Jack Hamilton but was quick enough to react to nip the ball into the empty net.
Any realistic hope of Hearts coming back to win was extinguished moments after the interval when Aaron Hughes failed to sort his feet and his clearance fell behind him to allow Sinclair to turn into the goal.
Griffiths made it 3-0 three minutes after the hour mark. A sustained period of pressure was culminated in an incisive pass from Scott Brown to set up McGregor who in turn fed Griffiths to head into an empty net, his last piece of action of the afternoon.
Having set up the third, McGregor netted the fourth with a thunderous drive which went through a despairing Hamilton after a fine direct run from Sinclair.
The Gorgie side did not look like troubling Craig Gordon for most of the afternoon, that was until Arnaud Djoum played a hopeful lofted ball over the Celtic defence for substitute Goncalves to run on to. The forward held off the attentions of Jozo Simunovic before firing hard at the front post, Gordon deflecting it into the roof of the net.

BBC

By Tom English

BBC Scotland

From the section Football

Leigh Griffiths scores Celtic's third
Leigh Griffiths made it 3-0, heading in following an excellent passing move

Leigh Griffiths grabbed a double as Celtic kicked off their Premiership title defence with a rout of Hearts.

The Scotland striker opened the scoring with a neat right-foot finish following a simple through ball from Nir Bitton.

Scott Sinclair capitalised on dreadful defending from Aaron Hughes to tap in the second before Griffiths headed home to finish an excellent move.

Callum McGregor drilled in the fourth before Isma Goncalves smashed in Hearts' consolation at the near post.

Rodgers' comments unacceptable – Daly
'Celtic have sent a message to rivals'

The visitors, with Jon Daly in interim charge following the sacking of head coach Ian Cathro, showed positive signs in the early stages.
Leigh Griffiths makes it 1-0
Griffiths knocked home the opener after Hearts goalkeeper Jack Hamilton made an initial block

They showed a whole lot more aggression than they did in the limp League Cup performances against Peterhead and Dunfermline that sealed Cathro's fate, but hard work guarantees you nothing when you come to the home of the champions.

For 20 minutes, the visitors looked at ease. They were defending well, had loads of bite in midfield and in the young winger Lewis Moore they had a player who looked like he could create something given the chance.

Celtic turned the heat up thereafter, though. Jack Hamilton had to parry away a Griffiths shot and only smart defending from Christophe Berra stopped McGregor from turning in the loose ball. Griffiths had another chance soon after. And then another.

This time he put it away after a ball from the back from Bitton was seized on by the striker. Hearts tried to play offside but Rafal Grzelak was caught out, not for the first time. Griffiths went through and scored at the second attempt.
Scott Sinclair makes it 2-0
Scott Sinclair was left with a simple finish after sloppy play from Hearts defender Aaron Hughes

The rest of it was easy for Celtic and a bit of a grind for Hearts. Kyle Lafferty went in the book, so did Michael Smith. Lafferty was fortunate not to get a second yellow later on. He was replaced with 20 minutes to go.

Celtic created more chances with Griffiths being denied by Berra, Forrest being frustrated by Hamilton and, the best opportunity of all, McGregor pulling a shot across the goal and wide after a cheeky Scott Brown back-heel opened up the Hearts defence.

The visitors had a brief flurry at the start of the new half. Berra should have done better with a close-range header from a corner.

Once that chance went begging, Celtic took ownership again, kicking on to build their lead. Sinclair tapped in from a few yards out after Hughes failed to deal with a Celtic corner.

The third arrived soon after. Brown put the excellent McGregor away down the right and he crossed for Griffiths. The striker's diving header increased Hearts' woes. The fact that McGregor looked marginally offside when he took Brown's pass would not have done much to lift their mood either.
Callum McGregor scores
Callum McGregor capped a fine display with a cracking drive

McGregor got the fourth – just reward for a Celtic player who does not get the attention of some others around him in that midfield. Sinclair drove hard at a retreating Hearts defence and slipped a pass to McGregor, who promptly thumped a shot straight and true, right over Hamilton's head and into his net.

The competition for places in that Celtic midfield is cut-throat now. Stuart Armstrong, Tom Rogic and Jonny Hayes all started on the bench as Brendan Rodgers' team sent out a crystal-clear message to those living in hope of being the first team to beat them domestically.

That is going to be as difficult this season as it was last season. For Hearts, in their most turbulent week since exiting administration, it proved impossible.

Goncalves' late strike, as he brushed off Jozo Simunovic and beat Craig Gordon at his near post, was all they had to show for their toil.

Celtic 4-1 Hearts: Brendan Rodgers' comments 'unacceptable' – Jon Daly
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40838704?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_sportsound&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=scotland

BBC
From the section Football

Austin McPhee, Jon Daly and Brendan Rodgers
Jon Daly (second from left) says Rodgers (far right) "knows nothing about" how Hearts are run

Hearts interim head coach Jon Daly says Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers' comments about his club were "unacceptable".

Rodgers said in the build-up to Celtic's 4-1 win over Hearts that he had "real empathy" for sacked Hearts head coach Ian Cathro.

And the Northern Irishman questioned how the club recruited.

"I'm extremely disappointed," said Daly. "The fact that he's commenting on the structure of our football club, when he knows nothing about it."
Daly & Rodgers at odds over comments

On Friday, Rodgers praised Cathro, who worked under director of football Craig Levein, as a "very good coach" who "wanted to bring in his own ideas".

'Celtic have sent a message to rivals'

The Celtic boss added that while watching Hearts "it always looked a little bit confused in terms of what he wanted and maybe what other people wanted.

"You know, you're trying to play football and you're bringing in players who play a direct game. So, it makes me ask about where the players are coming from? And if they're his?"
Rodgers questions Hearts recruitment

Following Saturday's defeat at Celtic Park, Daly told BBC Scotland: "I can understand the comments made about a manager losing his job because I'd be the very same. It's never nice to see someone lose their job but to comment on the recruitment of the players, to say that they don't fit the system, it's poor for me.

"You look at the players we've brought in – Michael Smith, he's a wing-back; Ash Smith-Brown, wing-back; [Rafal] Grzelak, wing-back; [Kyle] Lafferty, striker; [Isma] Goncalves, last year to play on the left-hand side of a front three; [Christophe] Berra to play in a back three. For him to come out and make a comment like that, it's just farcical, to be honest.

"I've followed Brendan's career for a long, long time. I've got a lot of admiration for him and I've never heard him make a comment like that when he was at Liverpool, commenting on Man United's structure or Chelsea's structure or Man City's structure.
Ian Cathro
Cathro left Hearts after they exited the League Cup in the first round, his reign lasting less than eight months

"He's obviously come up to Scotland and think he's the biggest fish in the biggest pond, with the best squad, with the best budget and he thinks he can comment on other people's teams, other people's structures or clubs and it's unacceptable.

"He wouldn't have done it in the Premiership [in England] so I don't see why now he all of a sudden thinks he can start doing it."

In his post-match interview, Rodgers said: "I was purely asked a question in relation to the operation there. It's no problem. I thought Jon organised the team well today. They were good and compact.

"My feeling was for support for young Ian Cathro, who I felt was dealt harshly with. But I've got no issue, there's no problem. I hope Jon goes on and gets the job.

"I'll always be open and say what I feel. That doesn't change. I say and believe in what I say 150%."

Asked if there was perhaps a an unwritten rule that managers do not discuss other managers or clubs, Rodgers replied: "Yeah, well, he hasn't become a manager yet so wait until he becomes a manager and then he'll know the rules of the game then."

Jon Daly savages Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers for 'unacceptable' criticism of Hearts

The Jambos interim boss has leapt to the defence of Craig Levein and blasted the Hoops manager.

ByRecord Sport Online15:27, 5 AUG 2017Updated16:09, 5 AUG 2017
Interim Hearts manager Jon Daly with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers
Interim Hearts manager Jon Daly with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers (Image: SNS Group)
Jon Daly has slammed Brendan Rodgers for his comments about Hearts.

The Celtic boss claimed Craig Levein proved a hindrance to Ian Cathro, who was sacked on Tuesday.

Now Daly – who took the Jambos side for their 4-1 defeat to the champions today – has leapt to the defence of the Tynecastle director of football.

In an interview with BBC Sportsound, the Irishman blasted the Celtic boss’ comments, branding them 'farcical' and 'unacceptable'.

Hearts director of football Craig Levein (Image: SNS Group)
Rodgers has hit back, however, insisting Daly is "not even a manager yet" before adding: "There’s no drama. I hope Jon gets the job."

Daly said: "I’m extremely disappointed. He’s commentating on the structure of our club when he knows nothing about it.

"He’s commenting on our recruitment. I can understand the comments about a manager losing his job because I’d be the same. It’s never nice to see someone lose their job. But to comment on the recruitment of players saying they don’t fit the system? It’s poor for me. It’s farcical to be honest.

(Image: SNS Group)
"I’ve followed Brendan’s career for a long time and I’ve got a lot of admiration for him. I’ve never heard him make a comment like that when he was at Liverpool, saying about Manchester United’s structure, Chelsea’s structure but he’s come to Scotland thinking he’s the biggest fish in the pond with the biggest squad, with the biggest budget, and thinking he can comment on other people’s teams.

Brendan Rodgers won't be happy with how it ended at Liverpool
Daly says he has followed Rodgers career for a long time (Image: Getty)
"It’s unnaceptable. He wouldn’t have done it in the Premier League so I don’t see why he now thinks he can start doing it."

On Friday, Rodgers had said: “I have real empathy with Ian. I am sad for him he hasn’t been given the opportunity to do what he wanted.

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“It always seemed a bit confused for me in terms of what he wanted, and maybe what other people wanted.

“Throughout his time at Hearts it always seemed as though he was up against it.

“I am a bit disappointed for Scottish football because Ian is clearly someone who was trying to develop players and make them better.

“I am not sure you have so many of them up here, that’s the brutal honesty of it.”