6 hours ago
6
At some point in the future, Wilfried Nancy may glance back and laugh at this inauspicious start to his tenure as the Celtic manager. Pouring rain, a revolting support and a rejuvenated Hearts formed the backdrop. In the here and now, this was another alarming spectacle for anybody of Celtic inclination. Kieran Tierney’s stoppage-time goal should do nothing to mask how unimpressive Celtic were in a game of supposedly high stakes.
On the previous occasion when Celtic played Hearts, Brendan Rodgers was still in office. A 3-1 success for the hosts in Edinburgh preceded the Irishman’s resignation and a wait of over a month to hire Nancy. The Frenchman has arrived in low key circumstances.
All another meeting with Hearts did was prove the scale of job Nancy has in front of him. Derek McInnes and his players have re-established daylight between themselves and Celtic at the summit of Scotland’s Premiership.
Saturday's Premiership roundup: Rangers ease past Kilmarnock
ShowBojan Miovski scored twice as Rangers moved to within six points of the leaders with a 3-0 win at Kilmarnock. Danny Rohl’s side hit the front in the 33rd minute with a drive from the North Macedonia striker, who added his second nine minutes after the break with a fine finish from inside the box. The travelling fans celebrated further when the Spurs loanee Mikey Moore came off the bench to add a third in the 81st minute before having a second disallowed. The Kilmarnock manager, Stuart Kettlewell, was sent off by the referee, Kevin Clancy, in the 72nd minute as Rangers moved up to fourth.
A first-half Adil Aouchiche double helped Aberdeen beat Dundee 3-1 and extend their unbeaten run to six. Aouchiche got the opener on 16 minutes and then got his second soon after, putting his side in command at the break. Dundee pulled one back through Ryan Astley on 63 minutes but it was not enough as just before the end Kevin Nisbet got Aberdeen’s third to seal the win.
Hibernian got back to winning ways, ending Falkirk’s five-game unbeaten streak in a 3-0 victory. The Australian forward, Martin Boyle, scored the first after making no mistake from the penalty spot. Just before half-time, Hibernian’s lead was doubled through a Kieron Bowie finish from outside the box. Ethan Ross thought he had got Falkirk back in it, however, after a lengthy VAR review it was deemed to be offside, before Bowie got his second to wrap things up.
Motherwell also came out on top as 3-0 winners against the bottom side Livingston, extending their unbeaten run to eight league games. After a strong start, Motherwell went ahead in the 18th minute courtesy of a curling 20-yard strike from midfielder Elliot Watt. On the hour mark, that lead was doubled as Apostolos Stamatelopoulos converted from the spot and Emmanuel Longelo made it three with two minutes to go.
St Mirren got their first victory in eight league games in a 2-0 win against Dundee United at the SMISA stadium. A first of the season for Conor McMenamin put St Mirren in the lead after 16 minutes when he headed home at the far post. Keanu Baccus got St Mirren’s second with his first goal since returning to Saints to round things off. PA Media
Claudio Braga had afforded Hearts their half-time advantage against punchless Celtic. Nancy’s team wrongly believed Braga was offside in the build up, inexplicably stopping as a consequence, as Hearts kept the ball alive. Braga turned the ball past a motionless Kasper Schmeichel.
Number two came from a set play. Harry Milne’s terrific corner reached the head of Oisin McEntee. The former Walsall man beat Schmeichel at his near post. Cue the latest spell of grumbling from the Celtic crowd, towards a board of directors who find themselves under siege. It really is quite the scene for a club who performed excellently in last season’s Champions League.
after newsletter promotion
Celtic never looked like mounting a suitable response to McEntee’s goal. Reo Hatate hit the bar after Alexander Schwolow had saved superbly from Arne Engels. This was after 85 minutes. Tierney lashed home with little over a minute of added time to play. Good luck Wilfried; you may need it.
