Celtic squeezed past Hearts and triumphed 2-0 courtesy of goals by Kris Commons and James Forrest this afternoon.
The first chance of the game fell to Commons, who collected a diagonal ball on his chest but could only fire straight at Jamie Macdonald. From the resulting corner, Anthony Stokes poked the ball onto the crossbar following a goalmouth scramble.
Teemu Pukki then fired at MacDonald, while at the other end Callum Paterson fired narrowly wide of the near post.
Macdonald then made a point-blank save from Joe Ledley's diving header as the home side continued to be thwarted by the visitors' stopper.
The second half began as the first ended, with Hearts defending valiantly, and Commons saw his free kick hit the side-netting before Macdonald denied him once more with a good save.
With 63 minutes on the clock, the home side eventually found a way past the 27-year-old.
Scott Brown played a disguised through-ball into the path of Commons, who rifled a low shot into the far corner, much to the relief of the Celtic Park faithful.
Ledley almost made it two with a near-post flick, but Macdonald parried the ball to safety and a few minutes later, Stokes nodded the ball over the bar.
Dylan McGowan almost rescued a point for the visitors in the 89th minute, but Commons headed the ball off the line and two minutes later, Forrest sealed victory with a composed finish.
Kristian Johnson
