Player ratings: Hearts v Celtic

Oct 3 2011

Hearts

Starman

Ryan Stevenson 8

Clever header early doors. Rewarded by cool late finish.

Jamie MacDonald 7

Excellent low first-half stops from Bangura and Commons.

Jamie Hamill 7

Good tussle with Commons and his lob brought first goal.

Andy Webster 7

Centre-back threw himself into tackles and blocks.

Marius Zaliukas 7

Hit post but mistake almost costly as Commons shot saved.

Danny Grainger 7

Slip let Forrest clear to set up Bangura but recovered well.

David Templeton 6

Struggled to influence but cheeky back-heel set up clincher.

Adrian Mrowiec 7

Did the ugly jobs with relish and was totally committed.

Eggert Jonsson 8

Patrolled in front of the centre-back pair and plugged gaps.

Ian Black 7

Booked for decking Commons but drove team forward.

Rudi Skacel 6

Sizzling finish to beat Forster. Booked for foul on Mulgrew.

Subs: David Obua - fired late shot over, 3. Arvydas Novikovas - winger had the final moments, 2.

Celtic

Starman

Adam Matthews 7

Right-back's pace was vital to keep Templeton in check.

Fraser Forster 7

Early save from Stevenson. Exposed by defence at goals.

Daniel Majstorovic 5

Didn't deal with up-and-under as Skacel scored.

Charlie Mulgrew 7

Good in the central area and dealt with his jobs well.

Badr El Kaddouri 5

Charged forward but little quality with his delivery.

James Forrest 5

Set up Bangura chance but too many wrong decisions. Victor Wanyama 7 Worked in the engine room making tackles and passes. Ki-Sung Yueng 6 Keeps the head but more influence required from him.

Kris Commons 5

Was looking dangerous until red-card lunge on Mrowiec.

Mohamed Bangura 5

Point-blank header saved by MacDonald. Came off for Stokes.

Gary Hooper 6

Good movement but his scoring chances were limited.

Subs: Anthony Stokes - couldn't turn it round, 3. Mark Wilson - mistake for second, 2. Paddy McCourt - on too late, 1.

Men Who Matter

Paulo Sergio

The Portuguese boss got his tactics bang on to ensure his team could compete. His Jambos showed some great character to weather storm and clinical finishing to expose Celtic frailty. 7

Neil Lennon

There was a new-look midfield for the Hoops manager with injury robbing him of Scott Brown and Beram Kayal. But he really needs his team to stand up when faced with a bit of adversity. 6

Verdict

CELTIC were in charge until their brittle backline coughed up a goal and Hearts were able to capitalise as Hoops lost their way in the wake of the setback. Better team may not have won but the one with sheer guts did.

Man In Black

Craig Thomson was ideally placed to make the big call on Celtic star Commons' lunge on Mrowiec. His assistant referees had very few contentious offside calls in a decent display from the whistler. 7

Taken from the Daily Record