© EuroFootball.com
In the only match of the Scottish "Premier" League on Sunday, two championship leaders met - the already crowned winners Glasgow Celtic and the "Lithuanian" Edinburgh Hearts. The capital team coached by Valdas Ivanauskas secured a crushing victory at home to maintain the lead over Glasgow Rangers.
3 - 0
6` [1 - 0] Stephen McManus (own goal)
8` [2 - 0] Paul Hartley
62` [3 - 0] Roman Bednar
After Saturday's Scottish "Premier" League match, Edinburgh Hearts were only one point ahead of third-placed Rangers, so a victory was needed for the Edinburgh team in this match.
Ivanauskas made four changes to the starting lineup - defenders Steven Pressley and Takis Fyssas were back in the team, the resting Rudi Skacel replaced the unregistered Saulius Mikoliunas, and Edgaras Jankauskas returned to the forward line. Deividas Cesnauskis started as usual, while Nerijus Barasa, recovered from injury, found himself on the bench after a long break.
The first dangerous moment of the match came at the hosts' goal when Celtic defender Stephen McManus had a great opportunity to score, but his shot from a few meters was saved by Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
In the 7th minute, after a foul on Edgaras Jankauskas, a penalty kick was awarded, and S. McManus this time sent the ball into the net, beating his own goalkeeper, making it 1-0 for the hosts. Two minutes later, another penalty was awarded to Glasgow club, and Paul Hartley decided to take it quickly - the Scotland national team goalkeeper struck strongly and accurately to double the Hearts' lead.
In the middle of the first half, Celtic veteran Neil Lennon took a long shot, but the ball went wide of the goal. In the 42nd minute, Deividas Cesnauskis crossed a dangerous ball into the penalty area, but Edgaras Jankauskas did not reach his pass. The first half ended with the hosts leading 2-0.
At the beginning of the second half, a dangerous cross by P. Hartley did not reach its target, but in the 63rd minute after his precise pass, Roman Bednar jumped ahead of Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc and scored the third goal for his team with a precise shot into the far corner of the goal.
In the middle of the half, Glasgow club defender Stilian Petrov took a dangerous shot from about 20 meters, but it was caught by C. Gordon. Shortly after, John Hartson took a weak shot, but again the Hearts goalkeeper saved the team. Hearts responded with a dangerous attack when the ball was sharp passed by P. Hartley, but Ibrahim Tall failed to reach it.
At the end of the match, N. Barasa appeared on the field, replacing the actively playing D. Cesnauskis. Hearts could have increased their lead, but a shot by E. Jankauskas was blocked by defenders, and Michal Pospisil missed the target after a corner. On the other side, S. Petrov continued to challenge the hosts' defense, but the Bulgarian's shot was directed over the goal by the goalkeeper's fingertips. The result remained unchanged, and the final whistle of the match confirmed Hearts' 3-0 victory.
With this match, the 36th round of the Scottish "Premier" League ended, with the Edinburgh team maintaining a 4-point lead over Glasgow Rangers. It is worth noting that these teams will face each other in the final round of the championship.
