Hearts Push 8 Points in Front at the Summit Following Lawrence Shankland's Penalty Overcomes Celtic
A historic moment didn't occur at Tynecastle Park, with it being far too early for such achievements. The encounter underlined is that the Edinburgh club are at least in with serious opportunity of breaking Scottish football's long-standing stranglehold. They now lead by eight points for Hearts over their rivals, whom they comfortably swatted aside. Catch them if you can.
Decisive Period in the Second Half
Three second-half minutes proved decisive, after an opening period that was contested closely. The striking aspect after Hearts surged 3-1 in front was how comfortable the closing stages of the game was for the hosts. Kyziridis doubled the lead, drifting inside before blasting a strike past the stationary the goalkeeper. Delight increased in the stands, Murray bringing down the Hearts player for a penalty that Shankland converted. Rodgers looked dejected; his problems are mounting.
The crowd erupted after Kyziridis (second right) scores to make it 2-1 against Celtic.
Hoops' Reaction
Celtic bounced back from the hosts' quick opening. Murray, who had a difficult day, turned the ball into his own net due to haste when trying to remove a delivery from Shankland. They gradually fought back into the game, the captain McGregor, finishing a Tierney cutback for 1-1.
Stubborn Defence
The Hearts goalkeeper Schwolow, who had saved superbly from Nygren in the first half, parried an Engels shot which touched Magnússon. Craig Halkett thwarted a Yamada attempt in the dying moments. Hearts were otherwise untroubled as the minutes passed. “We remain resolute” has become the Tynecastle verse of choice at the stadium. One cannot overlook the noise.
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