Hearts 0 Celtic 7: Shot right through the Heart and it might have been eight

This 7-0 victory was Celtic's biggest win at Hearts ever. It was the biggest defeat of Hearts in 40 years since a similar drubbing by Hibernian. It was the joint-worst result for Hearts in the Scottish Cup, with researchers going back to Vale of Leven's 8-1 defeat of the Edinburgh side in 1882.

This match, then, was historic. This was Bhoys against boys. This was champions against relegation favourites. This was a cold-blooded professional hit that left Hearts bleeding, their Scottish Cup hopes dead, their collective psyche severely wounded.

Tynecastle, once visited in apprehension by Celtic and their supporters, has become a more welcoming venue in terms of results. This patch of Gorgie was not just a happy hunting ground for Celtic yesterday but rather an exercise of taking aim in a barrel with a very large shotgun. This all occurred in the manner of a triumphal march, albeit one conducted at high pace.

The opening goal came within three minutes and then at a regular intervals thereafter. Hearts' possession stats in the first half were skewed by the amount of times they had to kick off. They were five down at the interval and were relieved to concede only two in the second period when they defended so deep they could all have been fitted with scuba diving suits.

The relentless nature of Celtic's assault was unforgiving. Their control was almost complete, their finishing assured and their interplay inventive and slickly creative. Hearts cannot be assessed without sympathy for their callow years and the imbalance in strength, style and technique between both sides. Mention must be made of Jamie Walker who manfully, or should that be boyishly, ran with some purpose in the first half.

This, though, was confined to the mere dribble. The tide was flecked with green and white and ran remorselessly towards a desperate Jamie MacDonald.

Commons, with a hat trick before he was withdrawn, had traditional claims to the match ball and ran on at the end to snatch it but Celtic were well served by Charlie Mulgrew, imperious in front of an untested defence; Mikael Lustig, powerful and dangerous on the right wing and whose goal was thunderously spectacular; and Joe Ledley, who was energetic and a constant irritant to the Heart defence.

Emilio Izaguirre, who has become such a target for this correspondent this season that he may have a bullseye on his shirt rather than a Celtic crest, was back to the buccaneering of his early days at the club.

The collective performance of Celtic was unanswerable. Hearts were reduced to a whimper in reply. The goals came like recurring statements in a script that assumed tragic proportions for the home side.

Commons opened the scoring after excellent approach play by Ledley and Anthony Stokes before adding his second when he shot powerfully past MacDonald after Mulgrew quickly took a free-kick. The third came after an incisive, sweeping move was started with a Virgil van Dijk long ball to Stokes, who played in Ledley whose shot was deflected on to the post and Brown tapped home.

The fourth came when Ledley had the final touch after another fine move, hallmarked by a brilliant Lustig cross. The Swede, who was in outstanding both in denying the bright Walker and pushing forward, then decided to make the most direct of interventions. He ambled into the Hearts half, cut inside and from 30 yards blasted the ball the ball into the net off the underside of MacDonald's bar.

All this, and more, occurred before half-time. Celtic then took a breath and then forced Hearts to endure a second half that was physically draining but had the small consolation that the painful blows were restricted to two.

The first came when Willie Collum awarded a penalty so soft it could have doubled as a bouncy castle. A flick by Commons did touch the hand of Danny Wilson but the Hearts defender was in close attendance and could only have avoided the ball if he had been a circus contortionist with the reflexes of a mamba. And there are not many of them in Gorgie.

Commons briskly converted the award, and the scoring was then completed after 75 minutes when Brown volleyed from the edge of the box and MacDonald was stranded by a subsequent deflection. This left 15 minutes for Hearts to endure.

The maroon contingent in the 10,636 crowd had dwindled but those who remained were defiant in the face of joyous, raucous choruses coming from the Celtic support. Mercifully, their team were obdurate in terms of not conceding further, though the pressure continued unabated. The blast of Collum's whistle came as a relief for Hearts and Gary Locke, their manager, who later sat in the media room and admitted: "My worry at the start of the season was that this might happen and now it has."

On a day of historic significance, he sat in the shadow of a photograph showing him celebrating a Hearts Scottish Cup final win. It was a physical remembrance of those glory days of long ago. To be precise, 2012.