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Hearts took a massive step towards clinching second place in the SPL and a shot at the Champions League qualifiers as they comprehensively beat champions Celtic. A victory for Hearts against Aberdeen will guarantee them that opportunity rendering their clash at Ibrox on the last day meaningless.

The result could have been so different had McManus taken a glorious chance inside the first two minutes, but his shot was straight at Craig Gordon despite finding himself totally unmarked just seven yards out. Having failed to find the net at one end, McManus succeeded at the other end just five minutes later. After conceeding a soft free-kick, Hartley whipped in a free kick from the left and the ball spun off the head of the Celtic defender, past the helpless Boruc. It was a needless header as he was under no pressure and from a Celtic perspective, was a very dissapointing goal to conceed.

However, Celtic were to be even more dissapointed shortly afterwards. Hartley was given...

Celtic maintained their unbeaten run with a goalless draw at Celtic Park, to remain 23 points ahead of Rangers. In a tight affair, neither team showed the creativity, imagination and quality to open the opposition defence up. The point allowed Rangers to move within four points of second-top Hearts as the fight for the second Champions League place looks like it will go down to the wire.

Before the match, both sets of supporters unfurled banners against sectarianism and racism following the recent threat of Uefa action after Rangers fans' chants in the Champions League. Possibly attempts to induce a less bitter atmosphere in the stands perhaps contributed to a more subdued style of play on the park. However the fact the league Championship was also tied up a while ago must be taken into consideration as this gave Celtic the luxury of keeping poccession without much urgency to get forward.

Stilian Petrov started for Celtic despite handing in a transfer request on Friday and...

On the day Celtic were presented with the league trophy, the pre-party action was slightly disappointing as Celtic could only manage a draw against Hibs. Strachan fielded a full strength team but they unable to convert their dominance into goals in front of a crowd of over 60,000 at Celtic Park. The outcome was meaningless for Gordon Strachan's champions but the result ended their run of 10 consecutive league victories.

A quiet start saw both sides enjoy long periods of possession, but chances were few and far between. John Hartson was first to have an attempt at goal as he broke away from the Hibs defence after 14 minutes but the Welshman's low angled shot was smothered by Malkowski.

Celtic were almost punished for some slack defending following a McManus error when a loose ball broke to Derek Riordan however the strikers chip drifted narrowly wide of Boruc's right hand post.

Celtic were pressing for the opener as Zurawski lashed a 20 yard drive over the crossbar and...

A relaxed Celtic played some fantastic football and came away with an emphatic win at Rugby Park. This was the Champions 10th straight SPL victory and their 11th in all competitions. Celtic also haven't dropped a single point away from home in 2006. Strachan made a few changes to the side that had rapped up Celtic's earliest Championship win the previous Wednesday since Jock Stein's all conquering team in 1970. Marshall made his first start since last July at Motherwell in place of Boruc in goals and Varga replaced Balde, who will now have an operation to solve a painful stomach injury and will miss the rest of the season. McGeady also got his first start since he has recovered from a hamstring injury, with Zurawski making way.

Celtic started in a confident manner and went ahead after only eight minutes. Nakamura was brought down 22 yards from goal by Naismith and the Japanese star brushed himself off before sending a beautiful curling left-footed shot over the wall and inside...

Celtic won their 40th league title at Celtic Park last night with six games still remaining after extending their lead over Hearts to 20 points at the top of the SPL table with a hard fought victory. It was a nervous night for the home support as their nearest adversary competed well in a tight and bruising contest. But Celtic ground out their 26th league victory of the season, and in a year of transition, to win the league by such a huge margain and lose on two league games in the process is a remarkable achievement for Strachan and his coaching team.

The atmosphere was terrific inside the ground and the championship party got off to a flying start with a wonderful volley from the birthday bhoy John Hartson after only four minutes. Maciej Zurawski flicked a long ball down field from Boruc to the Welshman, who struck the ball early on the half volley and watched in delight as the ball bounced once before grazing the fingertips of Craig Gordon on its way into...