Kyogo Show Breaks Hearts. Celtic 1-0 Hearts.

SPFL

Thursday 2nd December 2021. K.O. 7.45pm

Celtic Park. Glasgow.



CELTIC 1-0 HEARTS
Scorer: Kyogo (33)


Another big win and three points in the bag to keep us in the title race on a night when we should have made the win so much easier for ourselves. A Kyogo goal was enough to separate the teams in second and third place but we do tend to make it difficult for ourselves at times.

A welcome sight was the return of Tom Rogic and Carl Starfelt with the latter an addition with Carter-Vickers missing out due to personal issues. Forrest regained his place with Abada dropping to the bench as did James McCarthy. A pre-planned protest banner display against the appointment of Bernard Higgins to Chief of Security saw Celtic fan groups and supporters clubs well represented before kick off. All the while the board remains silent.



Celtic set out their stall early on with the intent of all three points. The game was only minutes old when a lovely ball from Rogic found Ralston inside the box. He pulled the ball back to evade a sliding Hearts defender but his shot was deflected for a corner. A couple of other chances arrived soon after with Anthony Ralston putting a ball over the top and Kyogo was through but it was just too far ahead of him. Just moments later a floated Turnbull free kick was headed wide by Starfelt.

On 10 minutes Craig Gordon made a save from Jota only to see it rebound into the path of James Forrest. Gordon again got his fingertips to it to deflect off Forrest who watched the effort hit the post. Hearts looked shell shocked at times due to the breakneck pace and movement of Celtic as we dominated play.



Jota with his quick feet made space for himself to shoot but it lifted over the bar by inches. Gordon then needed to be on his toes when he made a full stretch save from a deflected Callum McGregor shot that looked to be heading into the top left of the goal. Hearts were defending stoutly but Celtic just kept coming back at them like a prized fighter. On 33 minutes a Kingsley free kick from the right found Harkins inside the box. He cushioned the ball before striking but Hart got down to gather.

Celtic broke out quickly. The ball was put up to Jota on the left who had a good exchange with Turnbull who fed him back. Jota then passed across goal to Ralston who brought Forrest into play who in turn short passed to Rogic. Big Tom was astute to see Ralston overlapping on his right and he flashed a pass across the goal to Kyogo who took his trademark deft touch to steer it into the net. Another great team goal and the dam should have burst, but it didn’t.



Celtic suffered a major blow on 35 minutes when Anthony Ralston pulled up injured and had to be replaced by Montgomery. Ralston was having a fantastic game up to this point and hopefully it is nothing long term.

Celtic continued with the dominance in the second half as they probed for a second goal. Gordon had to make a one handed save from a good Tom Rogic strike early on. Another moment of brilliance saw the Hoops play out from the back with Jota and Turnbull play a one two with back heels. The ball was passed to Juranović who passed back to Turnbull but his shot was deflected wide.

Hearts brought on striker Liam Boyce (55) in place of Woodburn and it seemed to give them an immediate boost. From a corner Hearts saw Kingsley rise to meet the ball but glanced his header wide. Robbie Neilson was encouraged enough to bring on another attacking player, Gary Mackay-Steven (66), in place of McEneff. The adjustments saw Hearts gain more of a foothold in the game.



Hearts came at Celtic again and it was a great sliding block in the box by McGregor from a wicked Boyce strike that was deflected out. From the corner Barry McKay found Souttar but he headed over. The Bhoys were dealt further blows on 77 minutes when Jota pulled up with his hamstring and Stephen Welsh with a knee injury. Both players had to be replaced by Mikey Johnston and Nir Bitton and shows why we need to add quality in January.

Celtic had further chances to pull further away but Gordon was having another solid game against his former employer. Mikey Johnston sent a cross into the far right post that fell directly behind Kyogo. Forrest then saw an effort saved by Gordon. With five minutes left on the clock Mackay-Steven broke through into the Celtic box but he managed to clip his own heels to go over. Barry McKay latched on for a shot but it went agonisingly wide of the post by inches.



For the dying minutes it was Celtic who were making all the positive moves and held out comfortably until the final whistle. It was a massive performance considering the loss of three players that were having brilliant games. We do need to be more clinical in front of goal when we are on the ascendancy and Callum McGregor and Ange admitted as much at full time. It keeps us within touching distance of Rangers and a trip to Tannadice on Sunday is the next big obstacle. Dundee United will be a stiff test.



MOTM: Kyogo. He is a nuisance for any defence and he keeps them on their toes throughout. His vision, pace and movement are a joy to behold. Starfelt got the sponsors MOTM which is fair enough but for me the Japanese star shone brightest. 14 goals now in 22 games, Gotta love him.


LINEUPS:

CELTIC: Hart, Ralston, Welsh, Starfelt, Juranović, Rogic, McGregor, Turnbull, Forrest, Kyogo, Jota. SUBS: Bitton, Ajeti, Abada, McCarthy, Johnston, Bain, Montgomery (4-3-3)

HEARTS: Gordon, Smith, Souttar, Halkett, Kingsley, Devlin, Haring, Woodburn, McEneff, McKay, Ginnelly. SUBS: Boyce, MacKay-Steven, Stewart, Moore, Cochrane, Gnanduillet, Pollock. (4-2-3-1)


POSSESSION: Celtic 70% Hearts 30%

SHOTS: Celtic 25 - 9 Hearts

SHOTS ON TARGET: Celtic 5 - 2 Hearts

PASSES: Celtic 640 - 281 Hearts

COMPLETION: Celtic 87% Hearts 70%


By Packybhoy