Celtic saw their chance to rise back to the summit of the cinch Premiership slip through their fingers in Gorgie as they were defeated 2-0 by Steven Naismith’s Hearts.
An Adam Idah missed penalty coupled with a red card for Yang Hyun-jun in quick succession set out what was to be a dismal day for the champions, with a first-half Jorge Grant penalty and a second-half Lawrence Shankland goal seeing the Jambos take all 3 points from Celtic for the second time this season.
Here are A Celtic State of Mind’s player ratings from today’s defeat in the capital.
Joe Hart – 5: The Englishman had a few nervy moments on the ball but could do nothing about the two goals conceded from Shankland and Grant.
Alistair Johnston – 5: Johnston had his work cut out for him after Yang Hyun-jun’s red card, and he struggled down the right-hand side as he quickly began to tire and was beaten for pace on a number of occasions.
Cameron Carter-Vickers – 5: Carter-Vickers had a few shaky moments on the ball with the lack of a teammate to pass to, and didn’t have much of a part to play in both of Hearts’ goals this afternoon.
Liam Scales – 5: Scales didn’t cover himself in glory for Shankland’s second-half goal after making a brilliant challenge to deny the forward in the first-half.
Greg Taylor – 5: Taylor’s was lucky not to have gift-wrapped Hearts a third goal after his untimely slip could have proved costly. He was caused plenty of problems throughout by Dexter Lembikisa in a game he will not want to see back.
Matt O’Riley – 6: The Dane was one of few Celtic players who offered any real attacking threat going forward, but he lost his influence on the game as Hearts started to see more of the ball.
Tomoki Iwata – 5: Iwata stood out like a sore thumb after some positive performances in his previous appearances as he was bossed by Beni Baningime at every turn over the 90 minutes.
Paulo Bernardo – 4: Bernardo was afforded a massive chance in the Celtic team but remained virtually anonymous in his 45 minutes on the field as he was hooked for Kyogo in a tactical change at half-time.
Yang Hyun-jun – 3: The South Korean won a penalty early in the game but his afternoon finished after just 16 minutes after a high boot saw him dismissed.
Adam Idah – 6: Idah had a tough task with no Yang in attack for most of the game, and despite posing a threat in the final third, the Hoops’ form player couldn’t add another goal to his tally, passing up a massive opportunity from the spot.
Daizen Maeda – 5: Maeda’s was aiding Celtic’s cause defensively but once again was ineffectual when it came to the team’s attacking play.
Substitutes
Kyogo Furuhashi – 5: Kyogo had 45 minutes to make a difference and despite having a few shots on goal, the Japanese couldn’t be the difference-maker on the afternoon.
Daniel Kelly – 4: It was a hard game for Kelly to make an impact in, with his only action of the game being a booking he picked up for hauling back Aidan Denholm.
James McKenzie // @JamesWHMcKenzie