Craig Bellamy emerged as Sunday's Hampden Park hero with the important second-half strike to send the Tennent's Scottish Cup holders back to the final to face Dundee United on May 28.

Chris Sutton showed how influential he is to the champions by marking his return to the side with a third-minute opener before the on-loan Newcastle United striker also capitalised on some poor defending four minutes after the restart to increase the lead.

Substitute Deividas Cesnauskis came off the bench to lob David Marshall to set up a grandstand finish but Celtic saw the 90 minutes out to gain revenge over Hearts for last week's shock defeat at Celtic Park which put Rangers back in control of the Bank of Scotland Premier League title race.

Hearts fans booed and jeered the minute's silence for Pope John Paul II and referee Stuart Dougal was forced to end it early.

Celtic looked fired up for the game, with Sutton in for Aiden McGeady and Joos Valgaeren replacing Stephane Henchoz. Hearts manager John Robertson brought in Paul Hartley for Marius Kizys.

The ball almost fell kindly for John Hartson in the area after just one minute but his shot hit a Hearts player to take the sting out of the ball and Craig Gordon made a comfortable save.

The Celtic supporters were celebrating in the third minute when Sutton gave them a dream start with the opener.

Alan Thompson tapped a corner to Stilian Petrov to swing an inviting left-foot cross just inside the six-yard box and the Englishman got between Steven Pressley and Andy Webster and more importantly in front of Gordon to head into the roof of the net.

The Hearts fans goaded Craig Bellamy with chants of "Souness" in reference to his bust up with the Newcastle United manager.

The Hearts boss then flicked the ball away from Valgaeren as he bent down on the touchline before taking a throw-in.

Hearts looked dangerous on the break with Hartley's bursts forward and after good work by him and former Celt Mark Burchill in the 20th minute the ball broke to Joe Hamill on the edge of the area but Valgaeren was brave to block his effort.

Bellamy almost punished Webster for failing to deal with a back pass and Bellamy stole the ball with Gordon out of his goal,

He played the ball towards his Welsh international team-mate Hartson, inside the area, but he swung wildly and missed the ball completely.

Marshall had very little to do in the first half as Hearts struggled to get last week's scoring heroes Burchill and Lee Miller into the game.

Hartson came within inches of extending Celtic's lead on the stroke of half-time when he got within a whisker of Neil Lennon's cross after persistence from Petrov.

Robertson changed things at the break and introduced Cesnauskis for Robbie Neilson, who was injured early on.

But Hearts found themselves further behind after more poor play in their defence in the 49th minute.

Hartson failed to control Stanislav Varga's punt down field but Celtic target Hartley clumsily knocked the ball to Bellamy, who swivelled and forced his shot past Gordon from 12 yards.

The Hoops threatened to kill the game off moments later as Gordon took Thompson's cross off the head of Hartson and Varga somehow failed to turn the ball in on the goal-line.

Gordon stood up well to save Thompson's left-foot flick in the 54th minute but Hearts seemed to be dead and buried.

At the other end the ball almost broke to Burchill in the box but Jackie McNamara reacted quickly to clear the danger before Robertson brought Kizys on for Hammil.

But Cesnauskis hauled the underdogs back into the match on the hour when he got behind the the Celtic defence to lob the ball over Marshall, who had come off his line.

Sutton could have restored the two-goal advantage in a pulsating second half after being picked out by Bellamy close to the penalty spot but he pulled his effort well over.

O'Neill brought on McGeady for Hartson in the 72nd minute before Robertson replaced Neil MacFarlane with Dennis Wyness.

Hearts pushed Celtic back and McNamara needed to throw himself bravely at Burchill to send his shot behind for a corner.

Bellamy could have killed the game off but somehow failed to find the net from close range, but nothing was going to ruin his and the Glasgow club's big day.

Teams

Hearts Gordon, Neilson (Cesnauskis 45), Pressley, Webster, McAllister, MacFarlane (Wyness 77), Hartley, Hamill (Kizys 58), Wallace, Burchill, Miller.

Subs Not Used: Moilanen, Berra.

Goals: Cesnauskis 60.

Celtic Marshall, Varga, Balde, Valgaeren, McNamara, Lennon, Petrov, Sutton, Thompson, Bellamy, Hartson (McGeady 72).

Subs Not Used: Douglas, Henchoz, Lambert, Maloney.

Booked: McGeady.

Goals: Sutton 3, Bellamy 49.

Att: 38,505

Ref: S Dougal (Scotland).