Celtic close gap on Hearts

Livingston 0 Celtic 5

Celtic issued a chilling warning to Bank of Scotland Premier League leaders Hearts by producing a five-goal romp at Livingston despite dropping John Hartson.

Stephen McManus, Shaun Maloney, Maciej Zurawski, Chris Sutton and Craig Beattie found the net as Gordon Strachan’s surprise decision to drop the 98-goal striker was vindicated with an awesome counter-attacking display.

Livingston player-boss Paul Lambert was taking on Celtic for the first time since leaving Parkhead in the summer and he named an unchanged side after last week’s draw at Aberdeen.

After a frantic start to the game, Shunsuke Nakamura tested Roddy McKenzie with a fierce 25-yard drive in the sixth minute which the Livingston goalkeeper thought best to catch in the swirling wind and instead unconvincingly directed the ball behind for a corner.

The home side did very little to trouble Celtic keeper Artur Boruc and even when Graham Barrett attempted a speculative lob from just outside the box in the 14th minute, the Pole safely watched the ball sail over the top of the crossbar.

Livingston needed their own keeper to prevent Beattie from adding to his match-winning double against Inverness last week.

Sutton spread the ball wide to Maloney and he picked out the Scotland international in the area. But even though Beattie was forced away from goal by McKenzie he managed to turn back and get away a low right-footed shot which the stopper deflected wide with his foot.

Barrett could have tested Boruc at the other after being brought down by Bobo Balde’s clumsy challenge but he curled his free-kick over from 20 yards out.

Paul Telfer tried to use the blustery conditions to his advantage in the 25th minute with a bending right-footed blast from nearly 25 yards which McKenzie again failed to hold, opting to just parry the ball out and hope a Celtic man was not following up.

He would have had no chance moments later had Nakamura’s curling left-footed free-kick gone the right side of the post instead of whistling just by from 26 yards.

Celtic were getting closer as Petrov fired just wide of the upright from the edge of the area on the half-hour after Zurawski had teed him up from Maloney’s cross.

So it was no surprise when Celtic took the lead nine minutes before the break and McManus was the unlikely source. Sutton flicked on Maloney’s corner and the defender arrived unmarked in the centre to head into the back of the net from close range.

The visitors made it two on the stroke of half-time when Nakamura found Petrov and he quickly passed to Maloney, who turned before steering the ball past McKenzie and into the bottom corner of the Livingston net to cap his call-up to the senior Scotland set-up.

It was game over after just six minutes of the second period when Beattie played the ball out wide to Mo Camara and picked out Zurawski at the near post and he planted his header past McKenzie from just five yards out.

Beattie was inches away from getting a telling touch to Camara’s cross in the 56th minute after Maloney had humiliated two Livingston men near the touchline.

Sutton got in on the act in the 61st minute when Maloney’s free-kick hit the wall and fell kindly to the Englishman to rifle a right-footed effort into the top corner.

The home side’s misery continued in the 77th minute when McKenzie made a mess of Camara’s cross and the ball went through him to Beattie to sidefoot the ball into the empty net.

The visiting fans sung Hartson’s name and they got their wish when the frontman came on for Zurawski.

The impressive Maloney could have bagged his second goal of the game in the 84th minute when Hartson pulled the ball back to him but he fired over.

McKenzie denied Petrov his place on the scoresheet with a great one-handed save late on but the message had already been registered at Tynecastle.