Some things are worth the wait, then. Brendan Rodgers has spent the last month hanging on for the sight of Scott Sinclair in a Celtic shirt. As the former Aston Villa winger netted the winner at Tynecastle, Rodgers would have had to peer hard to find him as the diminutive 27-year-old was swallowed into the gleeful visiting support.
It took five bids to get Sinclair to the club, but Rodgers must have felt that his patience was rewarded with a goal that guarantees Celtic’s defence of their title got off to a winning start.
Ironically enough, the winger had done very little to mark his opening afternoon at his new club prior to hitting the winner, not terribly unsurprising given that he not had the chance to train with his colleagues prior to being pitched in against Hearts.
Having replaced Stuart Armstrong just after the hour mark, Sinclair had ambled his way through the latter stages of the second period. Yet, as he hooked the ball away from the edge of his own box to supply Leigh Griffiths, it was his pace that stood out as he hared goalwards. Griffiths, too, deserved credit for his role as he provided the cross across the six-yard box for Sinclair to covert.
"It is an amazing feeling," said Sinclair. "I didn't think I would be involved with the squad but the manager said I was fit. It was great I could come in and score the winner.
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"It all happened so fast. I came up Friday night, I only had three hours' sleep. But I did the scans and bits and pieces and I have made the squad. This is why I came to Celtic - to play games, score goals and start enjoying it again. Hopefully it can continue."
Sinclair will take the plaudits and headlines, but Rodgers too will feel vindicated. There is an immediate return on getting his man but even at 1-1 yesterday afternoon, the Hoops boss took off defender Eoghan O’Connell and switched to a back three as his team went in search of all three points rather than settle for one.
That attacking spirit will augur well as he seeks to deliver a sixth consecutive title while also making inroads in European competition.
Sinclair’s goal was impressive but it was a strike that on balance of play might have seemed somewhat harsh on a Hearts side who would have felt themselves worthy of a share of points.
Don Cowie was pivotal to the movement and tenacity of a Hearts side who picked up 7 bookings in a game that was controversial – Jamie Walker’s dive to win the penalty that drew the Tynecastle side level did not go down particularly well with the Celtic players – but was not particularly dirty.
Games between these side rarely conform to the mundane and this one was no different.
With the wind getting higher as the afternoon wore on, Celtic would have had just cause to expect to blow Hearts away when they netted after just 8 minutes.
It was James Forrest who opened the scoring with a raking drive from the edge of the box and it was not just Forrest’s goal that won him plaudits but his overall display.
The Celtic winger has become something of a forgotten man over recent seasons with injury issues and a loss of form limiting the impact that he has had on the senior team. His immediate future remains uncertain – he knocked back a contract offer from the club back in January, an offer which was subsequently taken off the table – and his current deal expires in December of this year.
On this kind of form, though, Forrest has something to offer. He was powerful, effective and creative with the ball yesterday afternoon against Hearts but it remains to be seen whether or not he is able to maintain a level of consistency that would make it very difficult for Rodgers to ignore him.
There was little between the teams yesterday, but Celtic’s edge came through a desire to win the game rather than settle for a point, a desire crystalised in the change of shape deep into the second period.
There will be some satisfaction that they got the desired result but aside from Sinclair getting off the mark, there was also the performance of Kolo Toure too to consider.
The veteran defender debuted last week as Celtic overcame Astana to get into the play-off round for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, but he made his first start against Hearts and was comfortable for much of the game.
While Toure looks as though his match fitness still needs
Celtic’s main focus now is on garnering the kind of momentum that will aid them in their quest to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League. That pressure is off this week as the club look to Wednesday’s night’s League Cup against Motherwell and it will be interesting to see if Rodgers changes the team considerably given that there is no league fixture next weekend for the Parkhead side who play Inter Milan in the International Champions Cup game in Limerick.
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