Hartson double rescues Celtic

Celtic 2 Hibernian 1

Two-goal hero John Hartson came to the rescue of stuttering Celtic with a late winner at Parkhead to haul them back to the top of the Bank of Scotland Premier League.

Gary Caldwell looked to have given Tony Mowbray’s impressive young charges a deserved share of the points after cancelling out the Welshman’s first-half effort.

But with the capital side pressing for the winner, Hartson pounced in emphatic style to enhance his position in his on-going contract discussions.

Celtic were looking to reclaim top spot from Rangers after losing their place at the summit last week for the first time this season.

But they survived an early scare after just 30 seconds when Magnus Hedman spilled Derek Riordan’s cross but reacted quickly to clear the ball with his foot.

Celtic eventually threatened at the other end in the eighth minute when Chris Sutton shrugged off the attentions of David Murphy but pulled his shot across the face of the goal.

Guillaume Beuzelin was again impressive in the Hibernian midfield and he fed Stephen Glass in the centre but this time his long-range effort was comfortably saved by Hedman.

But it needed an 18th-minute opener from Hartson to calm the nerves of the players and fans.

The Welshman found it far too easy to pounce on Aiden McGeady’s corner at the near post to thunder his header past Simon Brown from four yards.

But the visitors were not out of this having played the better football with only the final ball letting them down.

Steven Whittaker came within inches of pulling his side level as he swung in what looked like a cross and watched as the ball came back off the upright with Hedman well beaten.

Craig Rocastle wriggled away from Stilian Petrov in the 30th minute but pulled his ambitious shot well wide from 30 yards.

Out-of-sorts Alan Thompson was again careless in the 41st minute but Bobo Balde came to his aid by getting ahead of a poised Derek Riordan at the back post.

The home side started the second half like they did the first, nervous at the back with Stanislav Varga getting in the way of Beuzelin’s goalbound strike after less than a minute.

Martin O’Neill was forced to make a change in the 49th minute when Petrov hobbled off to be replaced by Henri Camara, making him a doubt for the clash with AC Milan.

Celtic finally got some momentum going and Thompson came close to extending his side’s lead in the 51st but Simon Brown touched his cross past the post.

Hibernian rallied strongly but Balde could have killed them off in the 56th minute when he got on the end of Thompson’s free-kick but headed over the bar.

Camara then had his fierce effort saved by Brown after more good work from McGeady and Hartson.

Hibernian would have punished Celtic with a sharper cutting edge and Tony Mowbray made a change on the hour by bringing on Sam Morrow for Garry O’Connor.

Hedman again tested the nerves of the Parkhead faithful when he made a hash of another cross and was relieved to see Glass hook the rebound wide.

Referee Iain Brines was having an even worse game than the goalkeeper and sparked an angry reaction on the Hibernian bench after further questionable decisions. He showed Sutton a yellow card for dissent and then Rocastle after tripping Camara in full flow.

Hartson should have wrapped up the points in the 70th minute when Thompson pounced on the ball after Beuzelin and Whittaker had tangled but the Welshman took his eye off the ball and headed wide from six yards.

Camara sprinted clear a minute later but his weak shot let him down and Brown made a comfortable save.

Celtic paid the price for not taking those chances when Hibernian grabbed a deserved equaliser which was always on the cards.

Riordan’s corner was flicked on and Caldwell arrived at the back post to hook the ball over the line.

Hibernian sensed a famous victory was on the cards and they were relieved to see Hedman hold Dean Shiels’ low drive.

The visiting fans started to cheer every pass but they were in shock in the 82nd minute when Hartson forced the ball into the net.

He took McGeady’s pass in his stride and held off a challenge before prodding the ball past Brown.

To add insult to injury for Mowbray, Rocastle was carried off on a stretcher after an innocuous challenge.

The fourth official gave the Celtic fans four added minutes to endure but they hung on to put the pressure back on Rangers.