Scottish Premiership

Saturday, May 7, 2022

Celtic Park

CELTIC… 4

(Maeda 30’, Kyogo 37’, O’Riley 69’, Giakoumakis 90’)

HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN… 1

(Simms 3’)

Celtic took a massive step towards becoming Scottish Premiership champions with an impressive and noisy 4-1 win at home to Hearts.

Despite falling behind after three minutes, it was a near-perfect display, capped off by goals from Daizen Maeda, Kyogo, Matt O’Riley and Giorgos Giakoumakis and rounded off by an electric Celtic Park atmosphere.

As the game started there was a sense of the excitement in the stands as the club stood on the edge of creating history, but the buzz around the stadium was slightly hushed after just three minutes as Ellis Simms gave Hearts the lead, lashing a left-footed half-volley past Joe Hart to stun Paradise.

It seemed to slightly stun the Hoops for the next ten minutes, but they soon found their groove with David Turnbull almost prodding home the equaliser on 12 minutes in his first start since the December League Cup final.

Craig Gordon was a match for that effort and the former Celtic keeper was needed again on 28 minutes as Kyogo, from a similar area to the Turnbull chance, met Callum McGregor’s cutback but again the attempt was parried away.

Just two minutes later, the pressure would pay as Maeda brought the game back to level terms. Jota picked the ball up on the halfway line and head down, he motored towards the Hearts goal, skipping past the last line of defence and squaring for the unmarked Japanese striker to calmly slot under Gordon.

The goal didn’t just bring an important equaliser but also a new energy to the stadium and the Bhoys fed off that to move into the lead on 37 minutes.

This time, Matt O’Riley played a cross from the left which was nodded across goal from Jota and Kyogo was inside the six-yard box to head the ball over the line, despite Gordon’s best efforts to keep it out.

The stadium was rocking at this point and the noise almost increased again just a minute after Kyogo’s goal, but O’Riley’s header was smartly kept out to keep the score at 2-1 going into the break.

Celtic edge ever closer to the Premiership title with comprehensive win over Hearts