Scottish Premiership Saturday, November 23 Tynecastle, Edinburgh HEARTS…1 (Drammeh 82) CELTIC…4 (Kyogo 55, Kuhn 60, Idah 78 & 93 pen) The champions returned to domestic action with a brilliant 4-1 victory over Hearts at Tynecastle, as Kyogo, Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah got their names on the scoresheet on a bitterly cold night in the capital. The first chance of the match fell the way of Hearts when, in the second minute, Lawrence Shankland headed the ball through to Blair Spittal in the penalty area, but his shot on goal was straight at Kasper Schmeichel who was able to make the save. James Penrice then tried his luck from distance a moment later, with Schmeichel called in to action once again to prevent the opening goal. Shankland was the next Hearts player to find himself with an opportunity inside the box which he curled wide of the post. In truth, the home side had the majority of the attacking play in the opening half-hour or so, and had their finishing been better, they could have taken what would have been a deserved lead. Buoyed by their team’s good start, the home fans started to turn up the noise and the hostility, giving the atmosphere inside Tynecastle an extra crackle. From a Celtic perspective, the first half was mostly forgettable, as the Hoops spent the majority of the half defending against Hearts’ attacks. There were a few moments of promise in the first 45 for Brendan Rodgers’ men, with Nicolas Kuhn and Alistair Johnston linking up well on the right-hand side and Kyogo looking lively in and around the box, but it was clear that it would take an improved performance in the second half in order to claim the three points.Within five minutes of the restart, the Hoops had their first real chance of the game, as Kuhn clipped a perfectly weighted ball to Kyogo in the box. The Japanese striker managed to get a shot on goal but Hearts’ keeper and former Celtic No.1, Craig Gordon, kept the effort out. In the 55th minute, the atmosphere amongst the home support was turned down a notch as Kyogo, on his 150th appearance for the Celts, broke the deadlock and gave the Hoops the lead. An attempted clearance from the Hearts defence ricocheted off of Callum McGregor and ended up with Kyogo who was only a few yards out from goal as he made it 1-0 and grabbed his 80th Celtic goal in the process. The Celtic lead was doubled in blistering style just before the hour mark as Kuhn thundered through the middle of the park with the ball which he slipped to Daizen Maeda. The Japanese forward laid it straight back in to Kuhn’s path as he burst in to the box and he almost burst the net with a rocket of a shot which Gordon could do nothing about, sparking brilliant scenes among the travelling Celtic support. Hearts almost pulled a goal back in the 72nd minute when a cross in to the Celtic box deflected off of Anthony Ralston and towards the top corner, but Schmeichel was alert and was able to prevent the goal. The Celts’ keeper was called upon again in the 76th minute, this time pulling off an impressive block from a Cammy Devlin shot from close range. The home support, who were full of voice and vigour at the end of the first half, were streaming out of the exits just before the 80-minute mark as Adam Idah, who had been brought on for Kyogo, made it 3-0 to the champions. Bernardo provided the assist on the edge of the area, leaving Idah with only the keeper to beat, which he duly did as he stroked the ball in to the bottom corner of the net. The home side got themselves a goal in the 82nd minute when Musa Drammeh scored from distance with an impressive and ambitious effort. The Celts almost had a fourth in the 90th minute with Craig Gordon producing two good stops to keep Idah and Yang from extending the Celtic lead. A fourth goal did arrive in the 93rd minute, though, as Idah converted from the spot after James Forrest had been fouled in the box. Tonight’s victory puts Celtic three points clear of second placed Aberdeen and 11 points clear of third place in the Scottish Premiership table as Brendan Rodgers and his side now look to the midweek and the visit of Brugge to Celtic Park in the UCL.FixturesHeart of Midlothian Vs. Celtic – Sat, Nov 23rd 2024, 19:45
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