5 days ago
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A contender must land a convincing blow to dethrone a champion. Hearts swung at Celtic throughout a breathless encounter at Tynecastle but were unable to take a major step towards a first league title since 1960, as Martin O’Neill’s side halted their winning run against the Old Firm this season.
Celtic led twice and were pegged back twice as the league leaders, shorn of several leaders through injury, benefited from their vulnerability at set pieces. The biggest winners of the day were Rangers, who moved to within four points of Hearts with their defeat of Dundee.
The roar that reverberated around Tynecastle at kick-off screamed volumes about the importance of the fixture. But the occasion appeared initially to get to Hearts, whose approach was too forced and too rushed for 30 minutes and played into Celtic’s hands. Cooler heads eventually improved the home team’s performance.
There were debutants on both sides with the Birmingham loanee Marc Leonard starting in central midfield for Hearts and Tomas Cvancara, the towering Czech forward signed on an initial loan from Borussia Möenchengladbach, leading the line for Celtic. They would have contrasting afternoons.
Cammy Devlin’s absence in midfield was felt, along with that of the leading goalscorer and captain, Lawrence Shankland. And Hearts must cope without the influential, injured duo for the next six to eight weeks.
Leonard lost Benjamin Nygren early on when the Celtic midfielder darted towards the Hearts area. The loanee reacted by pulling down the Sweden international just outside, and paid a heavy price. Nygren took the resulting free-kick himself and swept an emphatic set piece past Craig Gordon, who was beaten by the power rather than the precision of the shot.
Derek McInnes took exception to something that was said during the celebrations that followed in front of the Celtic bench and had to be pushed back into his technical area by the fourth official. The assistant managers Paul Sheerin and Shaun Maloney had a little tete-a-tete later on, too.
Hearts could have levelled almost immediately when Cláudio Braga broke into the Celtic area from a Pierre Landry Kaboré flick-on. He shot tamely at Kasper Schmeichel, however. An ineffective display in front of goal was under way for the hosts.
Alexandros Kyziridis should have equalised when a defensive howler by Auston Trusty put him clean through on Schmeichel’s goal. The Celtic defender was caught in two minds over whether to head or kick a long ball over the top and succeeded only in slicing a clearance to the Hearts winger. Kyziridis had to score but Schmeichel, heavily criticised of late, stood tall and made a crucial save with his leg.
Kyziridis missed another clearcut chance in the second half. Found in space inside the area by Kaboré, Kyziridis took an eternity to size up the shot and allowed Liam Scales to intercept. But Hearts were level by that point. Set pieces or a Celtic mistake offered McInnes’s side their best hope long before finding parity from the former. Leonard, who improved as the contest wore on, delivered a corner to the back post where Stuart Findlay rose above two Celtic players to bury a header past Schmeichel.
Celtic had shown little in the final third following their early lead but burst into life when Cvancara headed a Nygren cross against the bar and then led an incisive break down the left. Having sprinted clear of Craig Halkett, the striker rolled a perfect cross along the face of goal for Yang Hyun-jun to convert from close range.
Some spice was then added to the mix. Cvancara was booked for needlessly barging into Leonard. The on-loan midfielder then dissected the Celtic defence to release Kaboré, who was hauled to the ground by Trusty. The referee, Steven McLean, enraged Tynecastle by initially showing only a yellow card to the Celtic centre-half, presumably on the basis the Hearts striker was running away from goal. McLean was advised to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor and returned with a red card in his hand. Trusty was already on his way to the tunnel by the time it was brandished.
Celtic played for almost an hour with ten men in Bologna on Thursday. Hearts would test their energy levels to the limit. Braga somehow failed to beat Schmeichel from point-blank range when Sabah Kerjota’s cross landed at his feet but made amends with four minutes of normal time remaining.
A set piece was again Celtic’s undoing, this time a free-kick sent deep into the box by Harry Milne. Oisin McEntee headed down perfectly for Braga to lash home through a crowded area. There was still time for Hearts to push for a winner but Blair Spittal’s 97th-minute drive skimmed off the top of Schmeichel’s crossbar.
