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58 mins: A yellow card for Trusty, who gave the ball away and fould Kyziridis trying to win it back. Instead Shankland plays in Kabore, but Sinisalo comes out just in time to stop him latching on to it.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n 57 mins: This one is cleared, though not without cries from the crowd for another handball.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 57 mins: Kent wins the header, but Scales latches onto the ball and uses it to win another corner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 56 mins: Steinwender is very obviously in a bit of pain, but he\u2019s just going to have to push through it. Celtic<\/a> play Yang through, and when his cross is blocked it rebounds to Johnston, whose shot deflects wide. Celtic have a corner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 54 mins: \u2026 From which Kyziridis tries to dip and curl a shot over Sinisalo and into the far corner, and fails.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 53 mins: Kabore wins the ball off McGregor, turns and sprints towards the Celtic<\/a> penalty area. Nygren comes across to challenge and Kabore goes down readily at the first sign of contact. Free kick.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 51 mins: Blair Spittal replaces Baningime.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 50 mins: Howls from the crowd as Baningime limps the long way off the pitch, rather than limping around its perimeter.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 48 mins: Iheanacho tricks his way into space outside the Hearts<\/a> penalty area. Baningime chases after him, then suddenly pulls up and goes down, clutching his left hamstring. That, surely, is the end of his afternoon.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 47 mins: Hearts<\/a> bring Altena off, and bring on Frankie Kent.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 46 mins: Peeeeeep! The decisive half of the decisive game of the season is under way.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Celtic need to fashion a few more chances in this half, and to that end Kelechi Iheanacho is replacing Tounekti. \u201cJoshua Keeling may not even be a Hearts<\/a> fan, but I\u2019m in a pub in East Lothian full of Hearts fans and there\u2019s absolutely no complaints about the penalty here,\u201d writes Jon Gerrard.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n So, back where we started. Hearts<\/a> are essentially a goal up. Celtic must score in this half. It hasn\u2019t been a great game, but the atmosphere and inbuilt tension has ensured it\u2019s been anything but boring. The next bit, though, could be epic.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhat an absolute joke,\u201d rages Joshua Keeling, who is \u201cnot even a Hearts<\/a> fan\u201d. \u201cCeltic get all the decisions. That is an absolute shambles of a decision. His arm was in a natural position as he slid to block the ball. Fuming. If Hearts don\u2019t go on to win the league today \u2026 It\u2019s a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.41 EDT<\/p>\n Half time: Celtic 1-1 Hearts<\/p>\n 45+6 mins: And breathe!<\/p>\n Share<\/a>GOAL! Celtic 1-1 Hearts (Engels, 45+4 mins)<\/p>\n Engels converts! It\u2019s not a good penalty at all, and Schwolow goes the right way, but the ball goes under him!<\/p>\n Celtic\u2019s Arne Engels slots home from the penalty spot (just) to restore parity. Photograph: Andrew Milligan\/PAEngels and the Celtic fans celebrate. Photograph: Andrew Boyers\/Action Images\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.27 EDT<\/p>\n 45+3 mins: I think it\u2019s a harsh decision, but one that is taken all the time. There was no movement of hand to ball, but there\u2019s absolutely no doubt that it hit him.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 45+2 mins: Kyziridis slides to block Tierney\u2019s cross from the left. His right hand is raised, though, and the ball is blasted right into it!<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Penalty to Celtic!<\/p>\n 45+2 mins: A penalty to Celtic<\/a> for handball in stoppage time, is it?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 45+1 mins: Into stoppage time, and there\u2019ll be three minutes of it. \u201cIt is a great occasion but not a great game so far,\u201d writes Gordon, in Aberdeen. \u201cHearts won\u2019t care, though, if it stays like this. Celtic fans are heaping pressure on their own team with the groans and boos at every misplaced pass by the home team.\u201d Since Gordon wrote it hasn\u2019t stayed like that, and the day has swung further in Hearts\u2019 favour.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>GOAL! Celtic 0-1 Hearts (Shankland, 43 mins)<\/p>\n That is a phenomenal corner. Shankland stays well out of the melee in the middle, earning himself a free run on the ball as it dips just beyond the far post \u2013 and he\u2019s not missing that!<\/p>\n Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland ghosts in at the far post to head home and open the scoring. Photograph: Russell Cheyne\/ReutersShankland celebrates. Photograph: Andrew Milligan\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.20 EDT<\/p>\n 42 mins: A Hearts<\/a> long throw is headed behind by Scales, and the visitors crowd the penalty area. But Kingsley plays it backwards, deep to Kyziridis, an unexpected pass but not a very good one. But Hearts recycle the ball and win another corner\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 40 mins: Steinwender, certainly the player of the half so far, wins a free kick on the edge of his own penalty area. Schwolow kicks it long.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 38 mins: A bit of space for Hearts<\/a> now, but Kabore\u2019s toepoke hits Scales. Celtic break, and Steinwender is booked for trying (and failing) to stop them doing so. At the end of it, a Celtic corner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 37 mins: As I type that Hearts<\/a> do attack, and Altena has a curling shot from 25 yards that goes wide, and also high.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 36 mins: Hearts<\/a> are defending very well, but they\u2019re just doing too much of it. Schwolow keeps kicking the ball long, and inevitably Celtic win the header and start to build again.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 35 mins: The game\u2019s first yellow card is waved at Johnston, for tripping Jordi Altena.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 34 mins: More than a third of the match has been played now, and still it\u2019s goalless. Celtic have dominated possession, but Hearts<\/a> have arrived with a plan and so far it\u2019s working.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 32 mins: A shot on target! It\u2019s Tounekti\u2019s effort for Celtic<\/a>, from 20 yards or so, but it flies low and hard straight to Schwolow.<\/p>\n Sebastian Tounekti of Celtic shoots. Photograph: Jamie Johnston\/Focus Images Ltd\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.16 EDT<\/p>\n 31 mins: I really remember watching a game between Watford and Aston Villa in which Watford had clearly made the same calculation regarding Villa\u2019s Mark Delaney. Sure enough Delaney spent most of the match giving the ball away \u2026 until the point where he, inevitably unmarked, volleyed into the top corner from 30 yards to give his side a 1-0 win.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 29 mins: According to Sky Trusty has so far had twice as many touches as the second most touchy player in the game so far. Hearts<\/a> are deliberately leaving the Celtic centre-back in space, trusting that he won\u2019t be able to do anything very dangerous with all his possession.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 27 mins: Nygren chests the ball down 40 yards from the Hearts<\/a> goal, and Maeda is briefly open and available in front of him, but the pass runs behind the Japanese forward.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 25 mins: Celtic\u2019s long throw is headed away by Steinwender and then headed further away by Altena, who is promptly clattered by Johnston. The Hearts<\/a> physios come back on.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 23 mins: A quarter of the game has been played, and there has been one effort on goal of any note, Trusty\u2019s third-minute header.<\/p>\n Hearts fans watch the title decider against Celtic through the windows of Edinburgh\u2019s Tynecastle Arms. Photograph: Jane Barlow\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.03 EDT<\/p>\n 20 mins: Celtic play the ball around their defence for an age, before eventually lifting it over the Hearts<\/a> defence to Yang Hyun-Jun, who dances into the area before being dispossessed by Milne\u2019s excellent challenge \u2013 at which point the flag goes up.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 19 mins: Now Celtic<\/a> try to play Maeda through. Steinwender slides and stretches to intercept, and limps away from the challenge having done so.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 17 mins: When I\u2019m out for a run I tend to break it down into fractions in my head, working out when I\u2019m a pleasingly simple measure of the way through. Similarly, Hearts<\/a> have successfully navigated the first sixth of the match. Steinwender is back on the pitch.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 15 mins: Boos as Steinwender gingerly leaves the field after receiving treatment, and more after Celtic return the ball to Hearts<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 14 mins: Celtic<\/a> play the ball forward towards the run of Johnston, but Steinwender comes across and gets there first. Johnson\u2019s raised knee goes into his thigh, though, and now the physios are working on him.<\/p>\n Hearts’ Michael Steinwender and Celtic’s Alistair Johnston battle for the ball. Photograph: Andrew Milligan\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.08 EDT<\/p>\n 12 mins: The free-kick leads to a corner, which is sent curling into the gloves of Sinisalo.<\/p>\n Celtic’s keeper Viljami Sinisalo plucks the ball out of the air. Photograph: Andrew Boyers\/Action Images\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.51 EDT<\/p>\n 10 mins: Another Milne long throw, which is headed away but then Nygren brings Milne down, and Hearts<\/a> can put the ball in the box from a free-kick this time.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 9 mins: Milne nutmegs Johnson (good) before clumsily overhitting a cross out of play (bad).<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 8 mins: A less good delivery from Engels this time, and it hoops over the area and back out of play.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 7 mins: An excellent pass from Tierney finds Engels in the penalty area, but he can only convert it into a corner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 5 mins: Celtic<\/a> send in a long throw, which is flicked on by Steinwender, but there\u2019s nobody there to turn it in! Shankland thinks he was unfairly stopped from being there, but there\u2019ll be no early penalty.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 3 mins: And a chance from the corner! Excellent delivery, but Auston Trusty heads over!<\/p>\n Auston Trusty of Celtic (third right) beats Hearts\u2019 Landry Kabore in the air but heads the ball over the bar. Photograph: Jamie Johnston\/Focus Images Ltd\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.10 EDT<\/p>\n 2 mins: Celtic win a corner. Hearts<\/a> were really poor in the first 10 minutes or so against Falkirk in midweek. Celtic are more likely to punish a repeat.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1 min: Celtic<\/a> are straight on the front foot. Johnson is played down the right, and he plays an excellent low cross into the penalty area, but a defender slides to block it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1 min: Peeeeeeeep! Don Robertson blows his whistle. The players are having to deal with a lot of pressure today, but think of the pressure on that man\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n You\u2019ll Never Walk Alone is sung. Celtic\u2019s players huddle. It is almost time.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Out come the players! Amid jets of fire, scarves whirled overhead or held aloft, and a stupendous amount of noise.<\/p>\n Celtic fans hold their scarves aloft in the stands. Photograph: Russell Cheyne\/ReutersHearts fans give it some. Photograph: Andrew Milligan\/PAAs do those back in Edinburgh at the Athletic Arms, commonly known as the Diggers. Photograph: Jane Barlow\/PAHearts players gee each other up in front of a Celtic tifo just before kick off. Photograph: Mark Runnacles\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.42 EDT<\/p>\n And now Martin O\u2019Neill is asked about his pre-match message to his side, after Celtic<\/a> named an unchanged side for the first time since December:<\/p>\n double quotation markIt\u2019s the same message as before, just try and win the game. It\u2019s as simple as that. We\u2019re in a position over the last number of weeks where we\u2019ve got in here, now let\u2019s make the most of us. We\u2019ve kept the starting lineup from Motherwell and we\u2019ll try to take it on from there.<\/p>\n We have to, at the end of 90-odd minutes, we have to try and find ourselves in front, but I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any point going gung-ho and find yourself behind because you\u2019ve been hit on the break. Hopefully we can manage the situation.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve got to say I\u2019m really excited. We\u2019ve strived hard to close the gap week after week and now we\u2019ve got a chance on our home ground to try and do something with the crowd right behind us.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Derek McInnes has a chat with Sky:<\/p>\n double quotation markJust to have the confidence and belief that we can get a result here. We\u2019vce played Celtic three times this season and they\u2019ve failed to beat us. We ain\u2019t playing 60,000 we\u2019re playing the same players that have tried to beat us all season. We look relaxed and hopefully we can bring another performance. The performances have been there this season, that\u2019s why we\u2019re in this position. Whoever comes out on top will deserve to win the league. It\u2019s so difficult to set up a team to play for a draw. For me here, the intention always is to make sure we\u2019re pretty secure, but then as the game goes we\u2019ve got to make sure we\u2019re attacking as well as trying to defend.<\/p>\n On Claudio Braga being on the bench:<\/p>\n double quotation markHe\u2019s struggling a wee bit with a groin injury, we\u2019ve been trying to manage it for a couple of weeks. It\u2019s not ideal. We think he\u2019ll be able to give us something. We don\u2019t think he can give us 90 minutes. It\u2019s not ideal Claudio not being fully fit, but I think he\u2019s still going to have a big part to play.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here\u2019s Ewan Murray\u2019s preview of this match, and its place in history:<\/p>\n This Hearts story did not begin with Stuart Findlay\u2019s late winner at Tannadice in August, a stoppage-time intervention from Alexandros Kyziridis against Livingston later that month or the September victory at Ibrox that materially fuelled belief among Derek McInnes\u2019s squad. Brian Cormack, Alex Mackie, Jamie Bryant, Donald Ford and Garry Halliday will not feature in the Hearts team seeking to create history at Celtic Park but that quintet set this club on a path that after 16 years has almost \u2013 though only almost \u2013 reached the ultimate glory point.<\/p>\n Cormack and Mackie joked back then, when among a group establishing the Foundation of Hearts, that one day they would watch the team they love compete in the Champions League from a new main stand at Tynecastle Park. With the stand complete, Hearts will enter the Champions League\u2019s qualifying phase this summer. Humour proved prescient. In the west of Edinburgh, as Hearts pursue the point they need in Glasgow on Saturday to win the title for the first time since 1960, original FoH directors will gather to watch together. Their role in Hearts\u2019 rise should never be forgotten.<\/p>\n Much more here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Three changes for Hearts<\/a>, who drop Frankie Kent, Claudio Braga and Blair Spittal to the bench and bring Stephen Kingsley, Pierre Landry Kabore and Jordi Altena. No changes for Celtic.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>The teams!<\/p>\n Celtic: Sinisalo, Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Tierney, McGregor, Engels, Nygren, Yang, Tounekti, Maeda. Subs: Doohan, McCowan, Iheanacho, Osmand, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Saracchi, Murray, Forrest, Ralston. Hearts players arrive for the decider against Celtic. Photograph: Andrew Boyers\/Action Images\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.12 EDT<\/p>\n Hello world!<\/p>\n And so the day has come, the day when decisions will be made and champions determined. Hearts<\/a> play Celtic at Celtic Park needing to avoid defeat to seal the title. Celtic\u2019s record against Hearts at home? Well there was a run of 23 wins in 24 games between 2009 and 2023 (and they drew the other one). but since then it\u2019s three wins for Celtic and two for Hearts, including their previous meeting this season, back in December. Celtic\u2019s form is remarkable, but then this week they were unconvincing and needed a horror penalty decision to beat Motherwell 3-2, while Hearts outplayed Falkirk and won 3-0. Ahead of this game Martin O\u2019Neill was asked what he made of the furore surrounding that penalty:<\/p>\n double quotation markAm I surprised? No, I\u2019m not surprised because everybody wants Hearts to win. It\u2019s really as simple as that. Everybody outside Celtic and the Celtic diaspora wants Hearts to win. And if it wasn\u2019t Hearts, it would to be Rangers, it\u2019d be somebody else, that\u2019s the nature of it.<\/p>\n Spare me the Celtic-against-the-world schtick, please. But it is undeniable that the overwhelming majority of neutrals would like to see someone other than Celtic<\/a> and Rangers win the Scottish title, and this Hearts side seems pretty likeable. Here\u2019s Derek McInnes on today:<\/p>\n double quotation markIt\u2019s a perfect ending to a season for the league, for Scottish football, for drama and excitement … It\u2019s pure box office. It\u2019ll be bedlam, it\u2019ll be an unbelievable atmosphere. There might be people out there who think everything\u2019s back on script, \u2018Celtic win their home game, they win the league.\u2019 But we\u2019ve ripped the script up so often this season, and we\u2019ve got one more in us I think, and it\u2019s up to us to try and make that happen.<\/p>\n And here\u2019s Ewan Murray on referee John Beaton and the Celtic penalty fallout:<\/p>\n
Hearts: Schwolow, Steinwender, Findlay, Kingsley, Altena, Baningime, Devlin, Milne, Kyziridis, Kabore, Shankland. Subs: Fulton, Kent, McCart, Braga, Borchgrevink, Spittal, Forrest, Kerjota, Chesnokov.
Referee: Don Robertson.<\/p>\n