Heart of Midlothian 2-2 Celtic

Osman Sow rattled in a late equaliser for Hearts

Celtic moved one point clear of Aberdeen at the top of the Scottish Premiership with a fiercely contested and pulsating draw against Hearts.

The visitors were strong-willed and led twice through Nir Bitton and Tom Rogic.

Those goals were not enough to quell Hearts, who played with relentless commitment before a packed Tynecastle.

Sam Nicholson equalised at the end of the first half and Osman Sow did the same in the 90th minute with a stunning, slightly deflected strike.

Celtic had been immediately assertive. Their play in the opening stages was full of vigour and intent, with Rogic prominent as he dropped into pockets of space between Hearts' defence and midfield.

The visitors were unable to take full advantage, though, and that contributed to the nature of the game, which was so full of energy and commitment that it swept from one incident to another.

There were moments of alarm for the visitors - who lost Stuart Armstrong and Dedryck Boyata to injury in the opening half-hour - with Craig Gordon saving a Kieran Tierney clearance that bounced towards goal and a Gavin Reilly effort.

The visitors' resolve was being tested by the circumstances, but they did not lack spirit and were soon in front.

Hearts were complicit, with Igor Rossi charging out of his position and his centre-back partner Blazej Augustyn failing to clear the ball with an awkward attempt to volley it away.

Morgaro Gomis could not tidy up the mess either, with the ball being pushed towards Bitton, who, with cool assurance, clipped a shot past Neil Alexander.

Tom Rogic scored Celtic's second goal

There was little time for Celtic to build on the lead, since Hearts refused to be subdued. Three minutes later, Prince Buaben sent a deep cross into the penalty area and although Mikael Lustig reached the ball first, Nicholson steered a volley into the far corner.

The play was scrappier after the break, as if composure was treated as an interloper. There was also two heavy collisions in a matter of minutes, as players hurtled into challenges that told of the aggressive determination and desperation to win, and also left bodies scattered on the pitch.

With a strong sense of purpose, Celtic grew into command. There was good fortune when they took the lead, since the ball broke to Rogic at the edge of the area, but he had the presence of mind and deftness of touch to sweep a left-foot shot into the top corner.

It was not the last accomplished moment of the game, though, since Sow, with the aid of a deflection, delivered a hard-struck and well-directed shot past Gordon after receiving the ball from a short free-kick 20 yards out.