- Published
Jimmy Thunder was having none of Crawford Grimsley's chutzpah, none of his mouthing off before their heavyweight contest back in the late 1990s, none of his pre-bout arrogance.
asserted
his → publish → arrogance
Thunder took precisely 1.5 seconds to put Grimsley down - one punch, an overhand right to his opponent's temple.
asserted
Thunder → take → temple
Statement sent.
asserted
Statement → send → ?
As Celtic unloaded on Hearts at Celtic Park it was football's equivalent of Thunder's devastation; speed and accuracy and ruthlessness in the face of a challenger akin to a rabbit caught in the headlights.
asserted
it → unload → headlights
Hearts didn't give it the big one in the preamble to this evisceration, but they set up in the manner of a team who truly believed they were a whole lot better than they actually are.
asserted
they → give → team
Poor concentration and lack of physicality cost them two set-piece goals inside 10 minutes.
asserted
concentration → cost → minutes
The game was effectively over, but the visitors' suffering had only just begun.
asserted
suffering → begin → ?
The pretenders came to Glasgow with a weak away record in the league - two wins in 11 between this season and the end of last, both against Hibs - and tried to go toe-to-toe.
asserted
pretenders → come → toe
Thinking attack is the best form of defence is all very well as long as you can back it up, as long as you can defend competently, as long as you can pass from A to B without losing your mind, as long as you don't concede acreage of space to exploit.
asserted
you → think → space
Time and again, Hearts rolled out the red carpet to Celtic.
asserted
Hearts → roll → Celtic
A clinical Celtic made them pay for their naivety and maybe their arrogance, too.
asserted
them → make → naivety
On their backside before they knew it.
asserted
they → know → it
Hearts played the highest line with slow defenders, they pushed up the park and left themselves exposed to Celtic's speedsters.
asserted
they → play → speedsters
Seven goals don't flatter slick Celtic
Martin O'Neill needed a win after his recent travails and this was a stroll in the park that he could not have imagined.
uncertain
he → flatter → that
Football management can be a horribly stressful business that can put years on you.
asserted
that → put → you
After this, O'Neill looked younger not older.
asserted
O'Neill → look → this
The ageing process worked in reverse thanks to his team feasting on Hearts' scarcely believable weaknesses.
asserted
team → work → weaknesses
If it was a horrific day for Wouter Vrancken and his players then it was every bit as grim an experience for those who try to see sense in numbers.
asserted
who → try → numbers
Hearts had more shots than Celtic (20-18).
asserted
Hearts → have → Celtic
They had more shots inside the box (16-13).
asserted
They → have → box
They had more possession (52%-48%).
asserted
They → have → possession
They had more crosses (16-10).
asserted
They → have → crosses
They won more duels (51%-49%).
asserted
They → win → duels
They had more passes in their opponents' half (244-202).
asserted
They → have → half
They had more accurate passes (458-423).
asserted
They → have → passes
That last one was laugh-out-loud funny, for Hearts' use of the ball was comically bad.
asserted
use → laugh → ball
So often, when under a little bit of pressure, or no pressure at all, they passed into space only for Celtic to gobble up the loose ball and launch an attack which usually ended in a big chance or a goal.
asserted
which → pass → chance
Seven did not flatter them in the slightest.
asserted
Seven → flatter → slightest
It began with those two early goals - Liam Scales showing the desire to win a near-post header from a corner and Kieran Tierney left alone a few yards out to force in, then Dane Murray outfighting Claudio Braga to help it back to Nygren to score.
asserted
Murray → begin → Nygren
Hassan hit a post when he turned and darted away from Stephen Kingsley.
asserted
he → hit → Kingsley
People wondered what was Vrancken going to do to change this.
asserted
Vrancken → wonder → this
When Celtic score seven it seems odd to talk about pieces of defending they did that were significant, but Colby Donovan's cameos warrant mention.
asserted
cameos → score → mention
Around the midpoint of the first half, Hearts stirred a little.
asserted
Hearts → stir → half
You wouldn't say that they had momentum, but they had a bit of a possession and their hair-on-fire panic of the early minutes seemed under control.
asserted
panic → say → control
Twice in the space of three minutes, Josh McPake - one of the form players in the country - took on Donovan and twice Donovan routed him.
asserted
Donovan → take → him
Those little duels might disappear from relevance after the deluge, but at the time they were important.
uncertain
they → disappear → time
The Hearts dangerman had been snuffed out.
asserted
dangerman → snuff → ?
His morale had taken a hiding.
asserted
morale → take → hiding
And the stadium loved it.
asserted
stadium → love → it
Hearts fell apart at the seams from there.
asserted
Hearts → fall → seams
…and 33 more, not listed.
The Aporia
