Hearts 1 - 4 Celtic instant analysis: Naismith hindsight

Matt O'Riley gave the champions a lead after just three minutes before Daizen Maeda doubled the lead in the first half in what was a disastrous goal to give away. After the break Celtic missed a penalty before Kyogo Furuhashi grabbed a third. 

Hearts offered a period of resistance with Lawrence Shankland getting back on the scoresheet with a fine effort from the edge of the box. But Celtic would grab another through Tomoki Iwata.

The home side remain fourth but face a trip to Ibrox next.

Hearts made it look too easy for Celtic

When Daizen Maeda turned Reo Hatate's cross over the line 23 minutes into the encounter at Tynecastle Park there would have been plenty in the Hearts support thinking the same thing 'what else could I have been doing with my Sunday afternoon?'. From that moment it was all but game over, Celtic not a team who will give up a two-goal lead. Certainly not in the manner Hearts had two weeks' previous. There would be arguments that the game was done after Matt O'Riley's opener.

Nothing knocks the stuffing out of an expectant or hopeful home crowd against one of the Old Firm than an early goal from the visitors. That's exactly what happened in Gorgie. You can play as well as you want against Celtic but if you fail to do the basics then you give yourself little chance of earning a win. Basics such as tracking a runner or making a five-yard pass. Hearts failed to get those right for goals one and two. 

The decision making, in and out of possession, was found lacking throughout. The last thing a team can do when facing a Celtic side who are on form is make it easy for them. It was too easy too many times for the visitors. Take the third goal for example. Toby Sibbick and Frankie Kent were both drawn to the ball. Hatate produced an exquisite flick around the corner for Luis Palma to run and set up Kyogo Furuhashi but the decision was made easy for him.

Joel Sked

Team selection hindsight

Steven Naismith's team selection was always going to be interesting. Would he stick with the same set-up and personnel that performed well against Hibs, barring Stephen Kingsley due to injury? Or would he make a change or two with Celtic and the threat they pose, especially in midfield, in mind? The Hearts head coach opted for the former. It could be viewed as brave or perhaps naive but Naismith wanted his side to do more than "survive", keen to give as good as they get.

Celtic, however, were in the mood. No more so than Matt O'Riley and Reo Hatate. Hearts never got to grips with them at all. From the moment O'Riley made an excellent run behind Calem Nieuwenhof it was a stroll in the park for the Danish and Japanese stars.

It is easy in hindsight but a midfield three of Cammy Devlin, Nieuwenhof and Beni Baningime would have provided Hearts with a much better platform for success. The trio could have been set up to play man-to-man against Celtic, get in the visiting midfield's face and make it difficult for them. Alternatively, it could have been used as one holder with two in front. That holding player could protect the zones in front of the defence and follow any midfield runners. Instead, with some midfielder and forward players miles off the pace, it left Hearts far too wide open, especially when Celtic countered. 

Joel Sked

Key trio have off days

This was a contest where Hearts had to be on it from the first minute and to not allow any sloppy errors to creep into their play, but it was a brief they were unable to meet. Calem Nieuwenhof was the main offender and the Australian never looked comfortable in the midst of the midfield battle. Too many touches were miscontrolled, too many passes were slack, and the summer signing simply struggled to match the pace of the game. 

When the first goal went in with just four minutes on the clock, Nieuwenhof had to shoulder most of the responsibility. It was he who let the top scorer in the league, Matt O’Riley, drift beyond him and into a dangerous area unopposed. The Dane’s finish was sublime, but the opportunity should never have arisen in the first place. 

Nieuwenhof was directly involved for Celtic’s second, too. The 22-year-old’s back pass to Kye Rowles was short and greedily hoovered up by Daizen Maeda as the midfielder cheaply surrendered possession. The ball went out for a throw moments later, at which point Alex Cochrane momentarily switched off, affording O’Riley far too much space on the edge of the Hearts area. Two passes later and Maeda made it 2-0, leaving Naismith’s men with a mountain to climb. 

It was an off-day for Nieuwenhof (until he was replaced by Beni Baningime on 58 minutes) but he was not alone: Cochrane, too, struggled at Tynecastle against the league leaders. He was partly at fault for Celtic’s second, and fortunate not to give away a third after felling Kyogo Furuhashi in the box right at the start of the second half, even if it looked very soft. Reo Hatate struck the post to spare the left-back’s blushes, but Cochrane looked very much like a player returning back from injury. He was too cautious and conservative on the ball at times and struggled with Maeda’s pace throughout the afternoon. 

Alex Lowry may not have cost Hearts a goal but the playmaker certainly didn’t help his team’s cause all that much against Celtic. Starting out on the left, the 20-year-old started brightly in the opening 15 minutes and a few nice through balls came off for the Rangers loanee. From then on, though, it would all be downhill for Lowry. A missed pass would lead to howls of frustration from the stands; Lowry would then become even more determined to produce a moment of magic the next time he received the ball. Another missed pass would follow; Lowry, determined to make amends, would then try something even more audacious that didn’t work. On and on the cycle went until he was brought off with half an hour to go – the only surprise was that he hadn’t been replaced sooner. 

James Cairney

Vargas leads line as Shankland drops deep 

Lawrence Shankland’s goal drought was a hot topic among Hearts supporters going into this game –the skipper had gone eight games without finding the net – and Naismith decided to change things around for this fixture. Rather than occupying the tip of Hearts’ spear, Shankland played a little deeper in the No.10 position, with Kenneth Vargas leading the line. 

The thinking was sound enough. Many of Shankland’s best performances in a Hearts jersey have come when he is playing off the main striker, and playing a little deeper allowed the former Ayr and Dundee United forward to see more of the ball and get more involved in the build-up. Vargas, fresh from scoring twice in as many games for Costa Rica Under-23s during the recent international break, would look to use his pace to burst beyond the Celtic defence and stretch the game. 

To an extent, the experiment was a relative success. Shankland finally scored with a well-taken goal midway through the second half and was a lot more involved in the game than he has been in recent weeks, while Vargas did an admirable job at centre-forward. The on-loan attacker was getting some joy in the first half, getting in behind the Celtic defence on a couple of occasions and asking some awkward questions, and pressed their defence relentlessly when out of possession. On a disappointing afternoon for Hearts, Vargas’ performance provided a glimpse of a silver lining. 

Substitute impact

One of the biggest talking points, perhaps the biggest, amongst fans following the derby draw with Hibs was Steven Naismith's substitutions. There was a surprise there were no changes at half-time following the difficulties some individuals encountered in the first half. But when the changes were made they had a positive impact.

Yutaro Oda added energy, directness and endeavour, while Beni Baningime brought tenacity off the ball and composure on it. Oda had a strong start to the season, especially in front of goal, but has suffered from niggles and tweaks. His bustling qualities have been missed, even as an option off the bench while others have stepped up in his absence.

Baningime is an even more interesting proposition. He is arguably the club's best central midfielder but having been out for so long then suffered a setback when he did get pitched in against Rosenborg his game time has been limited. There is no doubt he is the midfielder Hearts should trust most with the ball. He is not going to make defence-splitting passess, he had the opportunity to do so in the second half but opted to keep it and move it. There should be plenty more to come and his influence should grow.

Joel Sked