Hibee history: Hagen's late strike silences Hampden

A GOAL from David Hagen maintained Hearts' unbeaten run against Celtic in the Premier Division and relieved the tension surrounding the club as the players battled to avoid possible relegation.

Hagen took his chance to run through Celtic's defence and beat Pat Bonner with an angular shot four minutes before the end of a game in which the Edinburgh club had looked likelier to take second prize.

The effect of Hagen's strike eased Hearts' worries of being forced to take part in a play-off against the second top side in the First Division in order to secure their Premier Division future.

And they went to achieve that aim, eventually finishing sixth with Dundee United relegated, seven points behind Hearts and Raith Rovers promoted.

The consequence of a dismal night's work from Celtic, meanwhile, was that their hopes of participating in the following season's UEFA Cup were all but extinguished.

Tommy Burns, the Celtic manager, had also to take into account the fact that his side had lost two successive league matches since defeating Hibs and reaching the Scottish Cup final against Airdrie (a match they won to claim their place in Europe through the Cup-Winners' Cup).

After the final whistle, the storm of booing from Celtic's lowest home crowd of the season, reminded Burns's team that they had no right to expect victory as a given right.

The initial stages of a game that was once a highlight of the Premier Division calendar were turgid at best. Two patchwork teams gave a second-hand performance which was low on every facet of the game. The absence of Tosh McKinlay, who has become a creative force for Celtic from the full-back position, and captain Paul McStay, from midfield, rendered the home team clueless at the outset.

Hearts, meanwhile, were left to deal with their precarious league position on their own. The support for the Edinburgh club inside Celtic's temporary home of Hampden Park (Celtic Park was being rebuilt] could not have numbered any more than 200 people and looked to be a reaction to the elongated run of defeats in the league and Scottish Cup.

John Collins was Celtic's most persistent threat in terms of providing a rare goal-scoring opening. It was a game ill-fitting the national stadium and, from Celtic's point of view, one which showed scant regard for the step Falkirk had taken towards overtaking them for a place in next season's UEFA Cup earlier in the day. The Brockville men had defeated Hibs 2-0 at Easter Road. The lack of urgency was what gave the game an end-of-season feel and there were few outstanding individual performances.

Brian O'Neil, who had signed a new three-year contract with Celtic earlier in the day, was one notable contributor. And Peter Grant was another who tried his best to take advantage of a Hearts side who had seemed to be there for the taking.

Brian Hamilton's long-range shot at the start of the second half, and Collins's attempt at one of his fabled free-kicks soon after, amounted to nothing other than posturing in the face of previous evidence that neither side were worthy, or capable, of taking the lead. The longer the game went on, though, the stronger Celtic seemed to become and Rudi Vata came close to giving them the lead when he struck a free-kick from the edge of the penalty box which Craig Nelson did well to parry for a corner kick.

Over-elaboration was Celtic's main failing, though, on every other occasion they came within reach of Nelson. And how they suffered when Hagen scored the winner within minutes of the final whistle.