Hearts ‘rattle’ Celtic – but did red card play ‘massive part’?

A full-blooded Scottish Premiership title encounter between leaders Hearts and champions Celtic ended with a share of four goals and the points – as well as a controversial red card.

So it was no surprise there were differing views of a madcap game.

Hearts manager Derek McInnes felt his side should have won as they managed to “rattle” Celtic, while his forward Claudio Braga said they were the “best team for sure”.

Celtic boss Martin O’Neill, though, felt his team had “reasonable control” at times, and believes the dismissal of Auston Trusty on 77 minutes “played a massive part”.

Braga’s goal to equalise 10 minutes later grabbed Hearts a point to keep them six clear of Celtic, with Rangers now just four behind the Edinburgh side in second spot.

There is clear evidence to back up the Hearts’ camp’s view they ought to have taken a third league win over Celtic this season.

They had more shots, more efforts on target – and their expected goals rating was higher too – and they had 31 touches in Celtic’s box compared to just 13 for the champions at the other end.

Celtic had just 45% of possession – a remarkable statistic for a club used to monopolising the ball and titles in Scotland in the last 15 years.

Kasper Schmeichel pulled off two fine saves to deny Alexandros Kyziridis and Braga, and crucially Hearts made set-pieces count again.

Including throw-ins, Hearts have scored 18 times from set-pieces in the league this season, four more than any other side.

Stuart Findlay’s back-post header and Braga’s finish, which came from Oisin McEntee’s knockdown after a Harry Milne free-kick, got them the draw.

“On chances created and overall territory, it felt like we were the better team and were the more likely to win it,” McInnes told BBC Scotland.

“It was a great free-kick by Celtic to take the lead, but we gathered ourselves well.

“The game played out the way we wanted. We unsettled Celtic, but we missed chances.

“We are a wee bit disappointed that we did not take all three points. Most teams would have been happy with a point against a team like Celtic, but we rattled them.

“Not often you see Celtic time-wasting and trying to run down the clock. It shows the character to dig out a point without key players.”

Nonetheless, despite Hearts’ dominance it was Celtic who led 2-1 when Trusty was sent off with 13 minutes of normal time left, thanks to Yang Hyun-jun’s tap-in after excellent work by debutant Tomas Cvancara.

The American centre-back was initially shown a yellow card for bringing down Pierre Landry Kabore as the Hearts striker raced in behind the Celtic defence.

But the video assistant referee (VAR) John Beaton felt Trusty had denied Hearts an obvious goalscoring opportunity, and referee Steven McLean agreed upon examining the replays from the monitor.

Ifab law 12 says the officials must consider the following when dismissing a player for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity:

O’Neill felt that because the ball was curling away from goal and Dane Murray was getting back, it was the wrong call.

“We score a wonderful goal to retake the lead and the sending-off has a major part to play in the final 20 minutes,” the Celtic manager told BBC Scotland.

“I’ve seen it back and I have to say I don’t see it. Maybe I’ve been out of the game too long or have misread the rules. But first of all, the ball that’s played is going away from goal and we have a man round on the cover.

“It is not a red card. It is gone now, but it played a massive part.

“We fought magnificently again. It was topsy-turvy, it was tough. Hearts are up there in the league because they are a very fine side.”

Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner agreed on BBC Scotland’s Sportsound, citing the fact Kabore “wasn’t in control of the ball” and Trusty was not the sole man back.

Former Hearts striker Ryan Stevenson also believed the ball was not going into the box, so it was unlikely to be an obvious scoring opportunity.

However, ex-Hearts player and manager Craig Levein felt it was the correct call.

“I think his [Kabore’s] next touch is setting him up for a shot and none of the Celtic players can get back,” he told Sky Sports.

“I think he’s going to shoot. Whether he scores or not is a different thing altogether. But I think he would take a big touch into the box and hit it.”

Former Celtic defender Darren O’Dea agreed Kabore would likely have got a shot away.

Ultimately it was a subjective call from the referee, who changed his mind after reviewing the footage.