We did not witness at Tynecastle, with it being far too early for such landmarks. The encounter underlined is that Heart of Midlothian have a genuine credible shot of breaking Scottish football's four decade-long stranglehold. Make that an eight-point lead for Hearts over Celtic, whom they easily dispatched. Catch them if you can.
A brief but pivotal phase were key, once the initial exchanges that was fiercely fought. The striking aspect after they extended their advantage was how comfortable the rest of the game was for the home side. Alexandros Kyziridis doubled the lead, moving infield before blasting a strike past the stationary the Celtic keeper. More joy followed in the stands, the Celtic defender upending Braga for a foul that Shankland slotted home. The Celtic manager cut such a disconsolate figure; his problems are mounting.
Fans start to rejoice after Alexandros Kyziridis (second right) scores to make it 2-1 against Celtic.
Celtic bounced back from an early setback. Murray, who struggled throughout, scored an own goal due to confusion when trying to clear a delivery from Shankland. They gradually fought back into the game, skipper McGregor, scoring a Tierney pull-back for the equaliser.
The keeper Schwolow, who had saved superbly from Nygren in the first half, kept out an Arne Engels shot which touched Tómas Magnússon. Craig Halkett blocked a Shin Yamada attempt in added time. They comfortably saw out the game as the clock ticked down. “We shall not be moved” has become the Tynecastle verse of choice at Tynecastle. One cannot overlook the excitement.
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