Arne Engels’ Celtic are champions of Scotland again after goals in the 88th and 98th minutes.
They had been at the top of the Scottish table since September, but the season lasted a few minutes too long for Heart of Midlothian. The Edinburgh club conceded the decisive 2-1 in the 88th minute in a direct title duel with Celtic, who thus became champions of Scotland for the 56th time. In the 98th minute, it even became 3-1, after which the final whistle sounded and a pitch invasion immediately followed.
Celtic was supported by 60,000 fans at Celtic Park in Glasgow on the final day of the Scottish Premiership. There, only 750 fans of Hearts from the Scottish capital Edinburgh were welcome in a corner of the stadium.
For a long time, they were allowed to dream of their first championship since 1960. A draw would have been enough for them, but in the final minutes of the season, things still went wrong for coach Derek McInnes’ team.
Lawrence Shankland (ex-Beerschot) even headed the visitors into the lead in the 43rd minute. Former Red Devil Arne Engels scored Celtic’s equalizer from a penalty in injury time of the first half. At that moment, there was still some trouble for Hearts, who were still the virtual champions.
But the Edinburgh club’s fairytale came to an end in the final minutes of regular time. Daizen Maeda’s 2-1 was initially disallowed for offside, but after a VAR check, Don Robertson pointed to the center circle.
With the courage of desperation, Hearts went on the attack in search of the equalizer. During a free kick in the very last seconds of added time, Hearts coach Derek McInnes sent his goalkeeper forward. On the ensuing counter, it was child’s play for substitute Callum Osmand to slot home the 3-1.
The books were completely closed, and so Robertson blew the final whistle, bringing the season to a close, whereupon the celebrations erupted at Celtic Park.
This is Celtic’s fourteenth championship in the last fifteen seasons. That hegemony was only broken by rival Rangers in the 2020-2021 season. Hearts seemed poised to put an end to the hegemony of the Glasgow giants after 41 years, but the Edinburgh club failed to follow in the footsteps of the Aberdeen of 1985 and 1986.
