Making his 150th appearance in maroon, Lawrence Shankland led a confident Heart of Midlothian team, taking the fight to the champions Celtic in an afternoon that saw Hearts increase their lead at the top of the league to eight points. John Shiels reports from Tynecastle.
With anticipation in the air, Tynecastle became the fortress that earlier in the month saw them off their rivals, Hibernian, and would see the Edinburgh league leaders claim an important win as they continued their unbeaten streak.
First Half
Hearts started a strong press from the whistle, and although Celtic’s defence held steadfast, Shankland would see a corner come his way as he leathered the ball off of Kieran Tierney with a conviction that would highlight his team’s approach to the game.
This confident approach to the match would see a haphazard Reo Hatate pass played straight to Shankland, giving the home side an early chance of taking the lead within the first six minutes to which the striker could not form.
Minutes following their first big chance, Hearts would get their goal.
A Stephen Kingsley cross, knocked back in by the Hearts captain towards Claudio Braga, saw Kasper Schmeichel parry the attempt away. It fell again to Shankland, whose cross could only be turned in erroneously by Dane Murray for an own goal as he attempted to clear the danger.
The home support went from the earlier intimidating wall of noise to one of electric euphoria, to the chants of “We shall not be moved”.
Despite taking the lead, it would not last long as Celtic bit back quickly.
Of all the moments of well-worked attacking play the Glasgow side did have, McGregor would find Tounekti overlapped by Kieran Tierney. The full-back sent a cutback towards McGregor, who seized the opportunity to bring Celtic back into the game with a low ball that beat Hearts’ keeper Alexander Schwolow; taking the sting out of the early goal and bringing the Glasgow side back into the tie.
Celtic would push this advantage, but Callum McGregor’s efforts to play forward from an uneasy midfield led to the chance being squandered by an offside Johnny Kenny – a common theme for both his and the Celtic performance.
The growing physicality of the game would eventually boil over in the 27th minute, as Cammy Devlin and the Celtic captain McGregor got into a shoving match following a foul, leading McGregor to push the referee aside and square up to Devlin.
Luckily for both players, neither received a card – although the referee issued a stern warning to both.
Celtic’s best opportunity to take the lead came before the break, when Reo Hatate pounced on a loose ball by Schwolow; however, Nygren would be unable to convert from the Japanese’s chance as the Hearts keeper was resolute in defending his error.
The first half, despite each team having a goal apiece, would be underlined by the chances missed; similar to Celtic’s first half of their Europa League match during the week.
Second Half
The second half began as the first had finished, with chances uncapitalised upon but fiery exchanges as both teams battled to take the lead.
Seven minutes into the restart, Hearts’ Alexandros Kyrzirdis scored, putting his team ahead with his fifth goal of the season. Braga would send a ball through the legs of Benjamin Nygren to Kyrzirdis, who side-stepped Nygren and drove the ball through the Celtic defence, leaving an infuriated Schmeichel to berate his rooted teammates.
No sooner had the “we shall not be moved” chants returned that Hearts were facing down the Celtic goal once again as Murray’s day became much worse when, following a VAR review, Hearts were awarded a penalty for his foul on Braga by the on-field referee Steven McLean.
Lawrence Shankland would step up to face Celtic’s keeper, with Schmeichel choosing the right direction but unable to beat a determined Shankland’s low-placed shot, who put the Edinburgh side ahead with three goals to one.
Although both teams would make changes later in the half, the promise shown by Celtic’s substitutes would not come nearly as close as Hearts’ debutant Ageu, the Brazilian, sending his pass from Braga straight at Schmeichel.
The full time whistle went at Tynecastle to elate the home crowd. As Hearts move eight points ahead of second-placed Celtic, they will look to increase the gap to 11 when they travel to Paisley on Wednesday to face a struggling St. Mirren.
Celtic, meanwhile, return home to Glasgow to host Falkirk, who came back in the second half of their match against Dundee on Saturday with an 89th-minute goal, giving them the win at home.
Final Score: Heart of Midlothian 3 – Celtic 1
Scorers: Hearts – Dane Murray (8′) [Own Goal], Alexandros Kyrzirdis (52′), Lawrence Shankland (55′ pen) | Celtic – Callum McGregor (12′)
