Rangers get off the hook following their defeat to Motherwell as Celtic blow the chance to go top of the Scottish Premiership with a defeat to Hearts.
Steven Naismith’s third place Hearts side always promised to put up a stiff test against Brendan Rodgers’s Celtic team and that’s exactly what happened at Tynecastle.
But the game might’ve gone very differently had Celtic’s January loan signing Adam Idah converted a first-half penalty before Korean winger Yang Hyun-jun was sent off for a dangerously high boot.
Jorge Grant then converted a Hearts penalty following a controversial Tomoki Iwata handball, before Lawrence Shankland went to to show why he’s the Premiership’s top striker.
Having a first-half effort ruled out following some dodgy offside lines, the striker reacted quickly to a loose ball and fired Hearts to a 2-0 victory over our Old Firm rivals.
A word for bluenose goalkeeper Zander Clark too, who put in a phenomenal display to win the day for the Tynecastle side, saving a penalty and a making a string of superb second half stops.
Rangers let off hook after slip-up v Motherwell
The result lets the Rangers team off the hook after a lacklustre performance at Ibrox led to a 2-1 defeat against a spirited Motherwell side.
Manager Philippe Clement had been clear that a bump in the road would come as the club romped to eleven straight victories but few would’ve seen it happen at Ibrox against Motherwell.
The Steelmen recorded their first Ibrox Premiership victory in 27 years courtesy of an inspired performance from the likes of Theo Bair whilst Rangers were desperately wasteful.
The result had heaped the pressure on Celtic ahead of their trip to Hearts but the Parkhead side have stumbled and Rangers maintain a two point gap at the top of the Premiership.
There’s still a long way to go, but you can see why plenty believe this might just be a big moment in this season’s title race.
Celtic mentality questioned after blowing Hearts chance
Not least because Rangers fans have been used to their side blowing it when handed an opportunity to close the gap on Celtic in recent seasons.
On the rare occasion our Old Firm rivals had slipped up in the past, Rangers often fell short of applying the pressure and mounting a proper title tilt.
Whilst there’s no doubt this Scottish Premiership title race has plenty of twists and turns to come, it’s interesting that for once the tables have turned.
Celtic have lost the ruthless edge which they had under Ange Postecoglou and – whisper it quietly – the Scottish Premiership title is very much within Rangers’ grasp if the club can find form.
With the Rangers squad braced for an inquest into their mentality had Celtic won at Hearts, they’ve just been desperately let off the hook.
For the first time in a long time it’s the Parkhead team who will be subject to questions surrounding their bottle and – if you listen carefully – you can almost hear a chorus of “we shall not be moved” being sung by Rangers fans in the distance.
