Chris Sutton has highlighted the performances of Jota and Giorgos Giakoumakis after watching Celtic overcome Hearts at Tynecastle.
The 2-1 success in Gorgie tonight ensured that the Hoops remained only 4 points behind Rangers in the Premiership title-race. But my goodness we were made to work for it.
Goals from Reo Hatate and Giakoumakis put the Hoops in cruise control in the first half. However, Liam Boyce’s second-half effort and a missed penalty later led to nervy moments for the Celtic supporters. And Sutton has moved to highlight the return of Jota and Giakoumakis to the side for praise tonight:
It was Jota’s first start for the club since getting injured back in December against Hearts at Celtic Park. His lively display down the left caused Michael Smith and Nathaniel Atkinson all kinds of problems.
Giakoumakis, meanwhile, showed some superb close-range footwork to ensure we had a healthy lead at the break. He also played a key role in ensuring Hearts didn’t get any late joy with some superb hold-up play.
It was a big night for everyone connected with the football club, and the truth is there were more than 2 players who could be proud of themselves this evening.
Celtic didn’t have a poor performer on the pitch at Tynecastle
Brilliant stuff from Celtic tonight. You can highlight Jota’s flair and Giakoumakis’ goal tonight. But you simply won’t find a player who underperformed tonight. Everything about Celtic this evening screamed title-contenders.
The Hoops had to show 2 sides to their game in order to achieve what they managed this evening. Firstly they had to show that extra bit of class to get themselves into a comfortable position. The quality of goals from Hatate and Giakoumakis tonight was outrageous.
However, the way in which we saw out the Hearts pressure in the closing stages was just as impressive. After all, can you honestly remember a moment in the game after their goal where they tested Joe Hart? The defence was superb for the most part.
Sutton, of course, is right to highlight the players he did. You just can’t beat the influence Jota brings on that left-hand side. In the opening stages when it was end-to-end, Jota was the one who started to get Celtic in control with some bright moments. He looks back to his best already.
We would also hope that Giakoumakis is now ready to step up and bring something to the party. That’s 3 goals in 4 starts for the Greek striker, and he’s slowly starting to show why Ange brought him to the club in the first place.
It was just a brilliant night tonight. A massive win in the title-race and one our rivals will be left feeling sick about.
In other news, Matt O’Riley’s frantic Celtic debut already has the supporters buzzing for more
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