The winners of a breathless, brooding contest at Tynecastle were the team playing 50 miles away. Rangers moved to within four points of Hearts after the league leaders missed the chance to put considerable distance between themselves and Celtic. A three-horse race for the title should enthral.
A contender must land a convincing blow to dethrone a champion but despite equalising twice, facing 10 men for the final 21 minutes and creating several clearcut openings, Hearts were unable to overcome Martin O’Neill’s tiring team. Celtic impressed sporadically but made their flashes of quality count through Benjamin Nygren’s free-kick and the incisive break that created a second for Yang Hyun-jun.
The visitors’ vulnerability at set pieces was punished by Stuart Findlay and Cláudio Braga. Blair Spittal, on as a substitute, almost won it for Derek McInnes’s team in the 97th minute, 20 minutes after Auston Trusty had been sent off, but his rising drive kissed the top of the Celtic crossbar.
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