Hearts 1-2 Celtic: Odsonne Edouard gives Neil Lennon win on return
- Published
Highlights: Heart of Midlothian 1-2 Celtic
Odsonne Edouard's stoppage-time strike earned Celtic victory over 10-man Hearts to give Neil Lennon the perfect start to his second spell in charge.
The striker volleyed in at a raucous Tynecastle to maintain Celtic's eight-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership and preserve their 100% domestic record in 2019.
James Forrest had the visitors in front before Hearts' Jamie Brandon was sent off for an elbow. But Oliver Bozanic levelled from the spot after Kristoffer Ajer fouled Arnaud Djoum.
Before the match, Celtic fans held up a banner criticising former manager Brendan Rodgers, who left abruptly for Leicester City on Tuesday.
And their first match without him looked set to end in disappointment, until Edouard's dramatic intervention sparked wild celebrations.
Celtic start slow but turn tide
After a blistering 2019 domestically, with nine wins from nine games and just one goal conceded, Celtic's season was thrown into turmoil in the space of 24 hours as Rodgers departed. Not that the Celtic fans in the away end were in the mood to be grateful for the seven trophies from seven that he claimed during his time in Scotland - as their banner testified.
With Lennon swiftly installed as his successor, the excitement was palpable at the thought of the Northern Irishman, not long out the door across Edinburgh at Hibernian, taking to the dugout at Tynecastle. The old stadium and Lennon have plenty of history - it was of course where he was struck by a coin earlier this season in that infamous Edinburgh derby.
Hearts came flying out the blocks, looking to take advantage of any Celtic hesitancy given the tumultuous 24 hours. Uche Ikpeazu- all 6ft 4ins of him - was all over Dedryck Boyata and Ajer, wreaking havoc with his physical presence.
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He had two headed chances, but the hosts' best opportunities came from Sean Clare and Steven Naismith. Clare arrived late into the box from a corner and his first-time volley was acrobatically tipped wide by Scott Bain, the former Dundee goalkeeper getting the merest of fingertips to it. Then Boyata gifted Naismith possession on the edge of the area, but the Scotland striker skewed his effort wide. It would prove a costly miss.
Despite being on the back foot and looking rattled, the league leaders struck minutes later. After a Hearts free-kick, they poured forward and a few swift passes later, Forrest tapped home. Ewan Henderson to Sinclair to Oliver Burke to Forrest, it was a lethal counter-attack.
From there, they grew in confidence, and were emboldened further when Brandon led with his elbow while challenging Jeremy Toljan in the air. It was rash from the full-back and referee Steven McLean was left with little choice but to dismiss him.
Having been in command, suddenly it was Hearts who were rattled. And they had goalkeeper Bobby Zlamal to thank for keeping it to one at the break as he produced a remarkable double save to prevent Burke's deflected shot creeping in and then Sinclair on the rebound.
As if all that was not enough, Naismith, their top scorer, failed to emerge for the second half due to a knee injury and was replaced by Bozanic.
Edouard breaks Hearts and sparks delirium
Odsonne Edouard's late winner was his 17th goal of the season
With everything now stacked against them, Hearts were handed a gift 10 minutes after the restart. Bain woefully under-hit a pass across his own box and it left Ajer scrambling. The Norwegian was beaten to the ball by Djoum, his desperate lunge scything the Cameroon midfielder down. Penalty.
It was an error of epic proportions from Bain, who has been in fine form for Celtic, and Bozanic then sent him the wrong way from the spot to level the match.
It swung the momentum again, the 10 men looked assured while Celtic were ponderous and slow. Edouard came off the bench and fired over after a good run and Toljan drove wide from distance, but overall there was little penetration. Meanwhile, Hearts remained a threat at the other end with Ikpeazu's mere presence causing problems.
Kieran Tierney and Forrest delivered dangerous crosses but there was nobody on the end of them. And just as the game looked to slip away from Celtic, Edouard stayed composed to volley in a dramatic winner. The Frenchman did brilliantly get on the end of Scott Brown's cross, pouncing when Hearts defender John Souttar missed his clearing header, to cushion in and send the away end delirious.
It could be a defining moment in Celtic's quest for an eighth successive league title as they snatched a victory that, for large spells, looked unlikely.
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BBC Scotland's Brian McLauchlin at Tynecastle
The appointment of Lennon was always going to add spice to what is already a fiery fixture. Credit must go to Hearts for the way they battled back after being reduced to 10 men, and for long spells in the second half it looked as if it was they who had the man advantage.
But Celtic have a never-say-die mentality in their DNA and the roar from the visiting fans after the winner would have been heard all around the capital, and the importance of the goal may not be clear until the end of the season. The Lennon factor was also evident when the ball hit the back of the net, as he celebrated up the touchline in trademark style.
Next up for Celtic is a trip to Easter Road and, while Lennon will receive a much warmer welcome from the home fans than he did on Wednesday, the task on the pitch gets no easier.
'You can't count your chickens' - reaction
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Hearts manager Craig Levein: "Celtic are a good team and you can never count your chickens. I thought we were just about over the line but a cross was the one thing I didn't expect us to lose a goal from.
"Losing Steven Naismith is never an easy thing to cope with but the lads knuckled down and inspired our supporters. I'm really disappointed, especially for the supporters, that we didn't get a point."
Celtic captain Scott Brown: "It was a good performance throughout. The team spirit is extremely good at the moment but we have to keep going and not concede goals.
"It was sad to see a manager [Brendan Rodgers] of that class leave. The gaffer's come in and it's great to see him back. He knows what winning is about and how to pick up trophies."