The Scottish championship is heading toward a spectacular finale: Celtic Glasgow, trailing by one point, hosts surprise leader Heart of Midlothian in a head-to-head showdown. To reach this stage, however, Celtic needed a late—and controversial—penalty against Motherwell FC.
Last Sunday, Celtic Glasgow put themselves back in contention with a brilliant 3-1 victory in the Old Firm derby against archrivals Glasgow Rangers. Now just one point behind the leaders, Heart of Midlothian, the Bhoys in Green are once again hoping for the championship title. Especially since the head-to-head match against the Hearts is scheduled for the final matchday—at Celtic Park’s home “Paradise.” A win would see them leapfrog the league leaders and—just as in 1986—prevent the Hearts’ surprise coup at the last moment.
First, however, they had to overcome the hurdle of FC Motherwell—after all, fourth in the Scottish Premiership. While Celtic had gone into the match confidently, things were looking far from promising by the 90th minute. Maeda (41′) and Nygren (58′) had turned the game around by the hour mark after Motherwell had taken an early lead through Watt (17′). But in the 85th minute, Gordon equalized for the home side to make it 2-2, putting Celtic in a tight spot.
Hearts Nervous Only at the Start
In the other match, Hearts had everything under control against promoted side FC Falkirk, who had sensationally made it into the Championship Round as the sixth-place finisher in the main round. Thanks to goals from Kent, Devlin, and Spittal, the Edinburgh club ultimately won their home match 3-0 in commanding fashion after a nervous start, remaining undefeated in their 19th league game of the current season at Tynecastle Park.
For Celtic, this meant that if the match in Motherwell ended in a draw, they would have to win by at least three goals in their head-to-head match against the Hearts on the final matchday to be crowned champions—in the worst-case scenario—thanks to having scored more goals, even if the goal difference was equal. A risky undertaking against the best defense of the main round, led by German goalkeeper Schwolow.
“Disgusting” or “pretty clear”?
So Celtic pushed for the winning goal until the very last second—and were suddenly awarded a penalty that sparked a heated debate. During a throw-in, Motherwell defender Nicholson challenged Iheanacho for the ball in the air inside his own penalty area. In the scramble, the 31-year-old’s own wrist hit his face, and he was unlucky that the ball bounced directly onto his hand—which was resting against his head. The VAR called the referee over to the screen, which indeed pointed to the spot—in the eighth minute of what was supposed to be five minutes of stoppage time.
Amid all the commotion over the penalty—Hearts manager Derek McInnes told Sky after the final whistle of the other matches: “I saw the penalty and I think it’s disgusting”—Iheanacho kept his cool from the spot and slotted it low to the left for the winning goal for the Bhoys in Green. For his Celtic manager Martin O’Neill, the decision to award the penalty had looked “pretty clear” anyway.
“Perfect drama”: Final in “Paradise”
This sets the stage for a thrilling finale in the Scottish Premiership this coming Saturday (1:30 p.m.). At Celtic Park, Heart of Midlothian must defend their slim one-point lead against a Celtic side that has found its form just in time. A draw or a win for the Hearts would mean that, for the first time since 1985—when it was Aberdeen FC under Sir Alex Ferguson—the Scottish champions would not come from Glasgow. If Celtic wins, the Green and Whites will become the sole record champions with 56 titles, ahead of their hated rivals, Rangers.
“We’re ready for anything and will be back in action on Saturday,” said Hearts manager McInnes, emphasizing that his team would not be playing for a draw at Celtic Park. “It’s perfect for the drama you expect from us. We’re just thrilled to be here. Now we absolutely have to win the title.” His counterpart O’Neill, on the other hand, was more cautious: “At least we have a chance. We’ve made it to the last game of the season—and that seemed impossible just five or six weeks ago.”
