Mikey Johnston helped Celtic bring down the curtain on an eighth successive Ladbrokes Premiership title-winning season with a double in a 2-1 win over Hearts at Parkhead.
With a view to next week’s William Hill Scottish Cup final between the two clubs at Hampden Park – where a Hoops victory will secure an unprecedented domestic ‘treble treble’ – both sides were much-changed for the final day of the season.
Amid a celebratory trophy-day atmosphere fringe player Johnston fired in the opener with less than two minutes played but that was cancelled out in the 17th minute by Hearts winger Jake Mulraney.
GETTY
5
Scott Brown and Mikael Lustig lift the title at Parkhead
Neil Lennon replaced Oliver Burke with highly-rated 16-year-old debutant attacker Karamoko Dembele for the start of the second half and he showed plenty of promise, but with six minutes remaining it was Johnston who stepped up with a terrific run and drive to seal the win.
Two unusual but not unexpected line-ups were revealed on the team sheet with the Hoops showing seven changes from last week’s 2-0 defeat at Rangers.
Skipper Scott Brown, Mikael Lustig, Odsonne Edouard, Tom Rogic, Jonny Hayes, Kieran Tierney and James Forrest were all left out, mostly with niggles, with Callum McGregor and Jozo Simunovic on the bench.
Youngster Anthony Ralston and Ewan Henderson and Jeremy Toljan and Nir Bitton were given rare starts.
GETTY
5
Mikey Johnston of Celtic celebrates with Anthony Ralston
Craig Levein made nine changes as he gave 16-year-old left-back Aaron Hickey his first start.
Skipper Christophe Berra, Bobby Burns, Steven MacLean and Harry Cochrane were rested with the Jambos boss hoping Peter Haring, Arnaud Djoum and burly striker Uche Ikpeazu are fit for Hampden.
The champions were given a much-appreciated guard of honour by Hearts before the game at the request of the visitors.
There was then a minute’s applause before the game in tribute to Lisbon Lion Stevie Chalmers who died recently.
GETTY
5
Martin Compston of Line of Duty went to watch the champions
GETTY
5
Jake Mulraney of Hearts celebrates after getting onto the scoresheet
Winger Johnston got the home side off to a great start when he worked a one-two with Henderson and slammed the ball past Zdenek Zlamal from eight yards out.
Mulraney screwed a shot wide a minute later at the other end but was much more accurate with his leveller, after Hoops keeper Scott Bain was slack with a pass.
Sean Clare took possession and rolled the ball to the former Inverness player who curled the ball past the back-tracking Bain and into the top corner.
Zlamal made a terrific save from a Johnston drive early in the second half before Dembele flashed a 25-yard drive just wide, drawing huge applause from the Hoops fans before having another effort saved by the Tynecastle keeper.
GETTY
5
Karamoko Dembele had an instant impact for Celtic
LATEST SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP NEWS
Gossip
Celtic eyeing up another Premier League target available for free
dan's the man
Celtic and Rangers backed to sign 67-goal Liverpool ace in free transfer
CRIMINAL MATTER
Celtic begin probe into leak of document allegedly revealing transfer plans
The Boss
Celtic confirm Neil Lennon is the new permanent manager
Celtic, captained by Scott Sinclair, piled on the pressure and there was a penalty claim in the 80th minute when defender Kristoffer Ajer’s drive following a long run was blocked by Conor Shaughnessy but referee Craig Thomson was unimpressed.
However, the home fans were impressed when Johnston played a one-two with substitute McGregor, on for Henderson, and drove towards the Jambos goal before firing low past Zlamal and in off the post from the edge of the box for the winner.
Part two of the contest will take place at Hampden next week where the stakes will be much higher.
Andy Robertson will miss Scotland's Euro 2022 qualifier against Kazakhstan due to an urgent dental operation he needs to undergo. The flying fullback lacked his usual pinpoint crossing accuracy against Fulham on Sunday. He was, however, typically energetic on the left hand side.
Scotland captain Andrew Robertson ruled out of Euro 2020
Newcastle 2-3 Liverpool: Super-sub Divock Origi heads in dramatic winner to seal crucial victory for Reds in title race Jurgen Klopp's men ensure title race goes to the wire but victory came at a
Super-sub Divock Origi heads in dramatic winner to seal
Transfer news: James Rodriguez wanted in £36million deal by
Whether it's the very latest transfer news, quotes from a Mauricio Pochettino press conference, match previews and reports, or news about Spurs' progress in the Premier League and in Europe, we've got it covered. Breaking news from each site is brought to you automatically and continuously 24/7, within around 10 minutes of publication.
Report Ad
Tickets On Sale Today And Selling Fast, Secure Your Seats Now. USA Tickets 2019
Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City have all been linked… James Maddison is a reported transfer target for four top Premier League clubs. Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City have all been linked with Leicester's playmaker in recent…
James Maddison: Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and
Nayim reveals whose idea it was to troll Arsenal about halfway line goal during Tottenham legends game at new stadium rivals Arsenal when they hosted a legends game in a test event at the new
Christian Eriksen: Tottenham will want more than Barcelona
setback Kante twisted his knee in training on Saturday and has had very little time to recover for the all-English affair in Baku Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has confirmed that N'Golo Kante remains a doubt for the Europa League final against Arsenal on Wednesday evening.
~ Chelsea vs Arsenal: Maurizio Sarri says N'Golo Kante is 50
Apr 02, 2019 · Bolton in crisis as players strike, club heads to High Court. The days of Youri Djorkaeff, Jay-Jay Okocha and Fernando Hierro running out to play Premier League games for Bolton Wanderers must
Eden Hazard's magnificent double earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over West Ham on Monday and moved Maurizio Sarri's men up to third in the Premier League.
Chelsea news: Giroud on Sarri, Eden Hazard - football.london
Arrivals of players like Ibrahimovic and Lukaku saw, being pushed out wide and not being trusted as Mourinho's starting central striker, has limited Martial's growth. Martial was Man United's top goalscorer in his first season with the club, scoring 18 goals in 56 games along with winning the FA Cup and winning the 2015 European Golden
man city - Premier League - epl.blogflop.com
'Better than Xhaka AND Elneny' - Arsenal fans heap praise on Joe Willock after assured midfield performance at Burnley Arsenal fans heaped praise on Joe Willock after his assured midfield performance against Burnley. The 19-year-old was given a rare start by Unai Emery at Turf talkSPORT 5 hours ago
Football Empires - All the best Sports News
footballempires.spinningworldinc.com
'Better than Xhaka AND Elneny' - Arsenal fans heap praise on Joe Willock after assured midfield performance at Burnley; Brighton stars spotted 'out on the town for THREE nights in a row' to hand Manchester City advantage over Liverpool in title race - reports
One wonderkid at every Premier League club who could become a
Monaco are keen on a permanent move for Leicester loanee Adrien Silva this summer, in a deal which could help the Foxes sign Youri Tielemans for a reduced fee. Both Silva and Tielemans have impressed for their new sides following the loan swap deal agreed between the two clubs in January, and according to Sport […]
Youri Tielemans on his Leicester City partnership with James
Jose Mourinho has named six Liverpool players in his Champions League team of the year. The former Manchester United manager heralded the Reds as exceptional and their inclusion is no surprise
Lionel Messi: Man Utd fans slam TWO players after Barcelona
No comments:
Post a Comment