Hearts welcomed new Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy to Scotland and he had a nightmare debut in the dugout. Goals from Claudio Braga and Oisin McEntee secured a 2-1 win at Celtic Park, leaving the Reds at the top of the league and three points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Nancy’s side dominated possession and ground against the in-form visitors, but Celtic handed control back to Hearts with a near-tolerable performance after caretaker manager Martin O’Neill overcame an eight-point deficit at the top.
Alexander Schworrow had a mostly uneventful afternoon in Hearts’ goal, with little else to worry about until the final minutes, when he was grateful for Dezan Maeda’s missed early shot, then denied Arne Engels’ header and picked Kieran Tierney’s late consolation into the back of the net in stoppage time.
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Claudio Braga’s goal puts Hearts ahead in crucial Scottish Premier League game against Celtic
Nancy tried to put an early stamp on Celtic’s reign by switching to a back three in the first game, but it proved ineffective as the visiting team chose the perfect moment to attack in either half, securing only their second win at Celtic Park since 2009.
The new manager would have been particularly annoyed to see his side switch off just before half-time ahead of Braga’s opener waiting for the offside flag, which never came, only to be penalized after a VAR review revealed Arne Engels’ play.
Former Scotland striker James McFadden was similarly unimpressed, telling Sky Sports: “I understand people think he’s offside, but ok, the game will be called off.”
“But while we talk about modern football, systems and techniques, one thing that has never changed is that we play with the whistle and all the Celtic players stand still.”
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Oisin McEntee widens his lead over Hearts in crucial Scottish Premiership top-flight battle against Celtic!
He demanded a performance with intensity and character, but it never came. Despite briefly fighting back at the start of the second period, Celtic lost concentration again and extended their lead to two points just after the hour mark when McEntee headed home from a Harry Milne corner.
Celtic finally struck back in the final 10 minutes when Reo Hatate hit the crossbar after Engels had a header saved, but by the time Tierney’s shot closed the gap in front of a half-empty Celtic Park, there was just a minute left in stoppage time. And Hearts had little trouble finding a decisive win that would give them a three-point lead at the top.
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Kieran Tierney scores late goal against Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts
Nancy defends Celtic’s start: There were some really good moments
Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy told Sky Sports:
“The result wasn’t what we wanted, but I thought we played very well in the first half.
“We had some chances to break, we had some chances to score. I think we could have done better in terms of last pass and execution, but I really liked the way we disrupted those balances and created chances.”
“The content was really interesting, so I think I’ll continue working on it in the future.
“We went against our momentum and conceded a goal. Looking back at the game, I think we should have been able to do better.”
“I think we missed the connection a little bit in terms of being able to create crosses, passes, more passes than crosses, more numbers in the box.
“As I said, the spirit was spot on, so this is something I will consider.
“There were some really, really good moments, but obviously it wasn’t enough.
“It wasn’t easy for the players to find out I was here three days ago, but the idea was spot on.”
Brown: It was always tough after O’Neal.
Former Celtic captain Scott Brown told Sky Sports:
“It’s always been difficult to follow what Martin O’Neill has done in the past and literally in recent weeks.
“He wanted to change a lot of things, but it doesn’t happen overnight, and that’s understandable.
“But it’s a big week. We have to win the game. They had some chances early on but couldn’t take anything away from Hearts. They did a great job and Derek McInnes did a great job there too.”
McInnes: “Our battle is not with Celtic, it’s with ourselves”
Hearts head coach Derek McInnes said on Sky Sports:
“Our battle is against ourselves, not against Celtic.
“We need to focus on ourselves and understand the importance of every point we get.
“This is going to be the toughest venue from now on, but we have the same three points next week and Falkirk is another tough venue.
“Every game is a challenge, we are not completely better than anyone else.
“Today we got a result that cheered everyone up and it’s great for the supporters because they’ve been here so many times and they wouldn’t have celebrated.
“It was nice to be able to give that to them today.”
