Celtic score twice in a minute to earn victory over Hearts

A night of frustration for Robbie Keane offered a glimmer of hope for the Celtic manager, Tony Mowbray. The loan signing from Tottenham Hotspur failed to find the net on his home debut, despite having a number of chances, but that will not bother Mowbray after his side cut Rangers' lead at the top of the table to eight points thanks to this victory and Motherwell's 1-1 draw with the Ibrox side. "On another night, Robbie could have had three or four goals," Mowbray said and added: "Someone, sometime, will feel the evidence of that. He is a little bit frustrated." Celtic had looked tense in the first half, but two goals in a minute just after the break ended Hearts' resistance. By collecting maximum points at Parkhead for the first time in four matches, Celtic eased the pressure on Mowbray. Now his attention has turned to overturning Rangers' advantage. "I cannot have any influence on results elsewhere," he said. "It is important we win, week in, week out. Points will be dropped along the way." Predictions that Keane's presence would ensure a full house proved wide of the mark. However, the attendance was noticeably larger than has been usual during a disappointing season to date for Mowbray and his players. Hearts have had their own problems and going into the third match of Jim Jefferies' second spell in charge they were waiting to score their first goal since his return to Tynecastle. They are still waiting. The blunt nature of the opposition and Keane's first appearance at Parkhead should have given Mowbray cause for optimism. Celtic, though, began in edgy fashion. Keane, who opened his goalscoring account in the 4-2 Scottish Cup victory over Dunfermline on Sunday, cut a frustrated figure after being caught offside three times in succession and looked short of match sharpness. It took 25 minutes for the hosts to muster their first meaningful opportunity, with Scott Brown being denied by a superb Marian Kello save before Marc-Antoine Fortuné's effort from the rebound was deflected over the bar. Keane then had a good opening but was denied by Kello. Celtic were roused at the start of the second period, perhaps after a reminder of the need for a league win, and two quick goals secured the points. The central defender Glenn Loovens made the breakthrough, capitalising on woeful Hearts marking to stab home a Diomansy Kamara corner. Aiden McGeady's driving run created the second, Fortuné collecting his pass and dispatching the ball under Kello. Hearts, who had been so obdurate for the previous 49 minutes, were fatally wounded. The appearance of the beleaguered Portsmouth manager, Avram Grant, an associate of the Hearts owner, Vladimir Romanov, among the visiting directors hardly augured well.