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Review
A scrappy opening 20 minutes was notable only for the number of crude tackles committed by the home side. But, as the game progressed, it was Hearts who created the better chances and Mark de Vries should have done better than scoop the ball over the crossbar when the ball fell at his feet just seven yards out.
Alan Thompson then warmed the fingers of Hearts goalkeeper Tepi Moilanen with an angled drive from the left edge of the 18 yard area and a free kick from the opposite side moments later. The Finnish goalkeeper then had to look smart to scramble away a sharp shot on the turn from John Hartson.
Play was raging from end to end at a furious rate of knots and, five minutes before the interval, de Vries blasted a shot high over the bar.
Celtic went in front on the hour, when Larsson stole in at the front post to flick home a low cross from Didier Agathe.
However, the lead lasted only 13 minutes and it was Stamp who pounced on Severin's mis-hit shot to divert the ball home from 10 yards out.
With the game moving into injury time, full back McCann burst forward to send a screaming shot into the far top corner of the net via the post from 18 yards.
Teams
Hearts:-
Moilanen, Maybury, Pressley, Webster, McCann, MacFarlane, Stamp, Severin, Valois, Weir, de Vries.
Subs:- McKenzie, McKenna, Boyack, Kirk, Wales.
Goals:- Stamp 73, McCann 90.
Celtic:-
Douglas, Mjallby, Balde, Valgaeren, Agathe, Lennon, Petrov (Smith 79), Lambert (Maloney 83), Thompson, Larsson, Hartson.
Subs not used:- Broto, McNamara, Kennedy.
Goal:- Larsson 59.
Booked:- Thompson.
Att:- 15,855
Ref:- J Rowbotham
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
- Match Report(BBC)
- O'Neill defiant in defeat (BBC).
Pictures
Articles
O'Neill defiant in defeat
BBC
Alan Thompson and Joos Valgaeren suffer despair at Tynecastle
Celtic's players were devastated by defeat in Edinburgh
Celtic boss Martin O'Neill refused to concede defeat in the Scottish Premier League race despite a "devastating" 2-1 defeat by Hearts at Tynecastle.
It leaves the reigning champions eight points behind Rangers and with only one game in hand.
The two meet at Ibrox a week on Sunday and O'Neill knows that victory is a must if Celtic are not to hand the title to their greatest rivals.
Before then, Celtic travel to Portugal on Thursday for their Uefa Cup semi-final second leg against Boavista.
"We have got a huge couple of games now," said O'Neill.
"I am devastated and the players are devastated.
I wouldn't write us off just yet
Celtic boss Martin O'Neill
"It is a massive blow and we have to go on and win at Ibrox.
"But, if Hearts put the same effort in against Rangers, as I am sure they will do, it is certainly not over.
"We have a semi-final and we know what we have to do. We have to score for a start and win the game.
"We have done it before and I hope, by the time Monday comes, we will have got ourselves in the right frame of mind and be determined for the remaining games.
"After beating Stuttgart, we had an exceptionally difficult game against Liverpool and we have proved that we are capable of doing it.
Hearts wreck Celtic hopes
"It's naturally going to be a hard game in midweek and in the league and I wouldn't write us off just yet."
It was the perfect day for the Ibrox side having earlier beat Motherwell 4-3 to book their place in the Tennent's Scottish Cup final.
Hearts head coach Craig Levein revealed that the performance of Terry Butcher's men had inspired his players to break through the mental barrier against the Old Firm.
"The lads watched the Motherwell game early on and we spoke about how competitive we have to be to beat Rangers and Celtic," he said.
"We harrassed and chased them from the first whistle to the last, like Motherwell."
Hearts wreck Celtic hopes
Hearts won the match in the dying seconds
BBC
Hearts 2-1 Celtic
Celtic's grip on the Premier League trophy was loosened further after they were beaten by battling Hearts at Tynecastle.
A glorious last-minute strike from Austin McCann gave the home side a dramatic win in a bruising encounter full of sweat and endeavour.
Henrik Larsson hit his 39th goal of the season to put Celtic in front midway through the second half, but Hearts levelled with Phil Stamp's first goal on home soil.
The defending champions now trail leaders Rangers by eight points with games running out, although they have played one less than their Glasgow rivals.
Hearts are seven points clear of Kilmarnock in the race to for the Uefa Cup spot on offer to the side finishing third in the table.
O'Neill defiant in defeat
Alan Maybury, Neil MacFarlane and Graham Weir all came into the Hearts starting line-up, with Andy Kirk, Steven Boyack and Robbie Neilson making way.
Celtic named the team that beat Kilmarnock last weekend, despite Thursday's Uefa Cup semi-final second leg with Boavista in Portugal.
A scrappy opening 20 minutes was notable only for the number of crude tackles committed by the home side.
But, as the game progressed, it was the home side who created the better chances and Mark de Vries should have done better than scoop the ball over the crossbar when the ball fell at his feet just seven yards out.
Johan Mjallby was then called upon to make a great sliding tackle to deny Weir a clear view of goal.
Alan Thompson then warmed the fingers of Hearts goalkeeper Tepi Moilanen with an angled drive from the left edge of the 18 yard area and a free kick from the opposite side moments later.
The Finnish goalkeeper then had to look smart to scramble away a sharp shot on the turn from John Hartson.
Play was raging from end to end at a furious rate of knots and, five minutes before the interval, de Vries blasted another shot high over the target.
Hearts were more than a match for Celtic
The Edinburgh side caught Celtic on the break with 57 minutes gone and Stamp was free in the penalty box after an excellent pass from Andy Webster.
But the midfielder was ponderous and Bobo Balde had time to get back and clear his low shot with goalkeeper Rab Douglas beaten.
Douglas then had to palm away a thunderous 20-yard shot from Maybury.
Celtic went in front on the hour, when Larsson stole in at the front post to flick home a low cross from Didier Agathe.
However, the Celtic lead lasted only 13 minutes and it was Stamp who atoned for his earlier miss when he pounced on Severin's mis-hit shot to divert the ball home from 10 yards out.
Hearts had their tails up and Mjallby had to clear a header from de Vries off the goal-line and Jean-Louis Valois was unlucky to see his ambitious volley hit the turf then bounce on to the crossbar.
With the game moving into injury time, full back McCann burst forward to send a screaming shot into the far top corner of the net via the post from 18 yards.