A historic moment didn't occur at Tynecastle Park, as it's far too early for such achievements. What this match did emphasise is that Heart of Midlothian possess a real credible shot of breaking Scottish football's long-standing title duopoly. That advantage stands at eight points for the maroon side over the visitors, whom they decisively beat. Catch them if you can.
A brief but pivotal phase proved decisive, once the initial exchanges that was evenly matched. The striking aspect after they took a 3-1 lead was how untroubled the closing stages of the game was for the Tynecastle team. Kyziridis doubled the lead, cutting in from the left before blasting a strike past the static the Celtic keeper. More joy followed in the stands, Murray bringing down the Hearts player for a penalty that Lawrence Shankland slotted home. Brendan Rodgers looked dejected; challenges abound for him.
The crowd erupted after Alexandros Kyziridis (second right) scores to make it 2-1 against Celtic.
The away side responded positively from an early setback. Dane Murray, who had a difficult day, turned the ball into his own net due to confusion when trying to remove a ball into the box. Celtic edged their way back into the game, skipper McGregor, scoring a Kieran Tierney cutback for the equaliser.
The keeper Schwolow, who had made a brilliant stop from Benjamin Nygren in the first half, parried an Engels shot which touched Tómas Magnússon. Halkett blocked a Shin Yamada attempt in stoppage time. They comfortably saw out the game as the game concluded. “We remain resolute” has become the favoured chant at Tynecastle. One cannot overlook the buzz.
Maya Chen is a seasoned tech journalist and software developer with over a decade of experience in digital innovation and cybersecurity.
