Tomas Cvancara was thrown right in at the deep end with a Celtic start against Hearts at Tynecastle.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill wasted no time and included Cvancara in the Hoops starting XI for the big top-of-the-table clash at Tynecastle.
O’Neill knows that Celtic’s fixture against Hearts is a must-win game and the Hoops gaffer has placed huge faith in the Czech striker.
Thoughts on the first half as Celtic lead Hearts 1-0?
What about that goal from Benjamin Nygren?
And here, the Celtic boss tells fans why Cvancara starts, while looking to temper any over-the-top expectations the Hoops support may have.
- READ MORE: Mark Guidi shares what Celtic are saying behind the scenes about Tomas Cvancara ahead of Hearts
Martin O’Neill warns Celtic not to slip up at Hearts, Cvancara has ‘really good qualities’
Cvancara started up top with Daizen Maeda and Hyunjun Yang supporting him, and O’Neill said the Celtic striker starts but might not last the whole game.
O’Neill told BBC Sport, “[Tomas Cvancara] is ready to go. Whether he lasts the whole game or not is another matter. I hope he brings some quality to our side.
“I don’t expect him to be the Henrik Larsson of our team, but he’s got some really good qualities.
“Hearts are very strong. They haven’t got into this position by being weak. They’re a very good side and they’ve got the capabilities. They’ve beaten Celtic twice, so there’ll be no fear from their viewpoint.
“We’re six points behind now, in the second half of the season. Games are running down and we’ve got ourselves into this position. It’s up to us to try and extricate ourselves from this.
“I know I’ve said this before, the margin of error is very small for us. It’s larger for the home team today.”
Tomas Cvancara’s Celtic performance vs Hearts
Cvancara had a fairly quiet first-half on his Celtic debut despite the Parkhead club dominating much of the 45 minutes.
What Celtic fans will have noticed is that the big Czech striker was a handful as he battled the Hearts central defensive pairing of Stuart Findlay and Craig Halkett.
Drawing in fouls and bullying Hearts, Cvancara gave Celtic fans a brief, but brilliant, look at what he is all about in a hard-fought first half at Tynecastle.
Cvancara made his biggest impact in the second half as the Czech striker made a mazy run at the Hearts defence to create the assist for Celtic’s second goal, Hyunjun Yang’s first.
Celtic fans will enjoy what they have seen from Cvancara as he looks like an astute signing already.
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