That Celtic have narrowed the gap on Hearts almost beggars belief when you examine Hearts record. Since the turn of the year, they have won 12 of 18 league games, drawn three (Celtic H, Motherwell A, Livingston A) and lost three (St Mirren A, Newco A, Kilmarnock A). My expectation that they would drift away and the race for the title would be between Celtic and Newco did not materialise.
They lost their best defender Craig Halkett and playmaker Marc Leonard to injury on Saturday at Motherwell. That was compensated by the return to Wednesday’s starting lineup of Cammy Devlin. Devlin was considered their MVP before injury. He played 67 minutes on Wednesday night and got a 3 minute cameo at Motherwell. They are his only appearances in five weeks, and he only managed three games between then and picking up an injury in the middle of January. He is not fit and has had insufficient recovery time since Wednesday to be even close.
That assertion leads to an interesting aspect of tomorrow’s game. Hearts have not had a midweek game since 3 February. This is a one-game-a-week club who are top of the table because Celtic and Newco played two games a week for months. Hearts even went out of the Scottish Cup on their first game (Falkirk). They got through the preseason League Cup section for clubs who did not qualify for Europe, but then went out on the first round proper to St Mirren. They have a squad who are not fit for two games a week and have had insufficient recovery time since Wednesday to restore energy levels.
We would not even have an end of season decider were it not for a disputed red card shown to Auston Trusty the last time Celtic and Hearts met. If Derek McInnes has anything to do with it, a repeat scenario tomorrow will give his side the best chance of coming out on top. They need to nobble Celtic: when in the box: they will fall; they will clutch their face for any challenge in the air; when a Celtic player slides in, they will roll holding an ankle. This game will require a strong referee.
Celtic’s best chance of success is to drive the pace of the game. They are more used to playing two games a week than anyone else in Scotland and need to make this fitness status a key aspect of the game by forcing play from early on. Chase everything in midfield, switch play from wing to wing, be content to go back and start again – but quickly.
The fitness of Alastair Johnston and Kieran Tierney is a concern. Celtic suffered when both were hooked against Motherwell on 70 and 78 minutes respectively. Both are ahead of Cammy Devlin in the fitness stakes, but present a conundrum for the manager. Leave them on and you risk weakening the team as they fade, replace them and the team loses the bite they bring.
Martin delayed his substitutions at Motherwell when Celtic took the lead with Reo Hatate and Kelechi stripped and ready. It felt like this upside scenario surprised the manager and left him unsure. Whatever he decides on substitutions tomorrow, maintaining energy until the final whistle will remain his top priority, he will not want to live through a repeat of the Motherwell pressure in the last 15 minutes of Wednesday’s game.
There is a confidence among the Celtic support which is based on recent performances and the irresistible force displayed by the manager and team. My feeling is that we overestimate our chances. Hearts are undefeated against Celtic in three games this season and have already won at Celtic Park. In the last five weeks, they have beaten Motherwell, Hibs, Newco and Falkirk, four of the other five top-six sides. They have earned the right to compete for the title tomorrow. They buckled at Ibrox in February, but despite being outplayed, twice took the lead. Can we rob them of composure tomorrow in a similar manner? I expect so, but they have scored in 18 of 19 games this calendar year, it will take a few goals before you will feel comfortable.
You and I have a job to do. If a Celtic player makes a mistake, goes back when you would prefer he went forward, or things just don’t seem to be coming off for him, support him. Flow encouragement towards the worst Celtic player on the field. Encouragement helps, moans do not. Derek McInnes is a nobody. Focus directed against him takes the pressure off his players, it gives them someone to fight for. Antagonism should be aimed squarely at the Hearts player on the ball, this works. More so if that player makes a mistake. Create as much noise as possible and be prepared to continue if Celtic go behind, or still need a goal late in the game. It is not important who is winning early on, only who is ahead in the 99th minute!
Head-to-head final games to decide the title between the top two clubs is rare. We have to look back to “the 4-2 game” in 1979 and before that, to Jimmy Johnstone’s double in the 2-2 draw at Ibrox in 1967. You will know if you have met a Celtic fan who was at either game, as they always tell you. These occasions are precious and inspire a lifetime of joyful memories. If you are going tomorrow, you are already lucky that you have a chance to attend such a game. It is in your hands. Play your part.
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bournesouprecipe on 15th May 2026 1:12 pm
“Tounekti or McCowan ?
That is the question”
Neither for me.
Sini
AJ, Trusty, Scales, KT
CalMac Bernardo
Yang Reo Maeda
Nygren
Or move Reo left, Nygren back and Maeda up top.
Nygren in MF is a man down and we need both wings to attack and defend in unison as required.
Stivs 1.03
Never seen any, certainly not a handsome one. 😉
Favourite Uncle 1.24
Jimmy is fine and says we shall gub the hun. 👍
I think I’m right in saying Bragga has never come up against AJ?
If so, AJ will probably be the best defender he’s played against.
Is it true Tavpen signed off his farewell to the hun with watp.?
My own take with the penalty, maybe someone has already said this, is that Beaton saw the handball and didn’t give it straight away because he never gives us a penalty straight away or he wasn’t totally sure and in that case was right to delay. This would explain why when called over by VAR he was able to make a quick decision.
Anyway, it was a penalty.
Looking forward to MO’Ns presser . A subtle dig at McIness would be welcome. He was very frost with Rohl after his dig at us so expecting something similar.
The huns want £1 million for the damage at the midden for the cup tie,the agreement in place is 50k they are withholding our share of the gate money
Burnley78 on 15th May 2026 7:18 am
All the Scottish media crap about Hearts challenge has created huge global interest in the SPL is total bullshit
_____
Yep. The BBC news girl said all the world was talking. Then went on to mention Gary Linekar😀. Quite simply, it’s engrained deep-rooted bias and discrimination, against us.
A strong referee? Step forward Don Robertson 😱. He always seems to disrupt the flow of the game. Hopeless ref.
The 4-2 game was our last match but not for the Huns. Final day winner takes all in direct competition, are quite rare (in my lifetime).
the Bada Bing on 15th May 2026 1:40 pm
————-
got a source bada ?
£1m in damages, wow,
did they break in to the trophy room and steal all the treasures ?
£1m , a broken seat costs £142. wow.
that will make up for the cup final prize money they didnt get.
BADA .
One million quid? That would make us the owners.
Well need to score at least 2, tomorrow. Keeping a clean sheet has not been our strong point, recently. Let’s blow them away in the first half. HT 3-0. Might be a red card for someone tomorrow. High tempo for the whole match but need to be disciplined.
The 4-2 game was our last match but not for the Huns. Final day winner takes all in direct competition, are quite rare (in my lifetime).
————
two for us, both v thems 67 and 79.
and a decided at hampden after teams tied on 41 points back in 1905.
one more for the huns 1991 v aberdeen.
and the famous hearts 0 kilmarnock 2, the day we won the cup in 65.
maybe suprisinlgy, maybe not, before the 2nd world war, days the league was won, could be porrly attended, and just didnt have the glamour of the big cup occassions.
i am actually so looking forward to tomorrow, we can do this, and we will, smon the hoops.
I was at the 4-2 match. I was a student at the time and had been visiting family in London. I wasn’t expecting to make the game as it had been scheduled for the previous week and then postponed twice to allow for the two replays of the Hibs- v Rangers Scottish cup final. I got off the bus at Buchanan street just after 6.00 and was met by my parents – I gave them by bags and then headed straight to Celtic Park. Happy memories.
I see Tavpen is disappointed again – this time about how Wednesday played out. I would have thought he should be pleased he wasn’t there for another defeat.
ZIGGYDOC1
There was a time before the split we were finding even scoring one goal a difficult task.
Post split we’ve scored 3 2 3 3. Would have been three if penalty was given at Hibs.
Three goals tomorrow would be lovely. One on the half hour , second just after half time and the third on 75 minutes to let the celebrations begin.
Think we all know there’s only going to be a goal in it.
Fixed that fur ye…
BORGO67 on 15TH MAY 2026 1:47 PM
BADA .
One million quid? That would make us the owners x a million. 😁
Maybe tomorrow is the day (we’ve all been craving for these past few weeks) that we have a comfortable win👍
Tobago Street on 15th May 2026 12:12 pm
‘Derek McInnes is a nobody.’ Superb sentence Paul! 😝
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Its asking for the Jambos to slap Celtic on the kisser, kind of sentence.
Imho.
Maolmuire O Muirgheasa on 15th May 2026 12:43 pm
Beaton and Dallas had to give the penalty as they knew that images would come to light that Nicholson handled the ball.
I would surmise that Celtic have given yet another dossier to UEFA about ‘refereeing anomalies’ and that UEFA had a word.
Beaton and Dallas would not have given that penalty if they could have helped it.
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Excellent post Comrade.
Everyone at Celtic is looking ahead to an exciting weekend where we aim to do all we can to bring our fans success again.
It has been an eventful season and we welcome Heart of Midlothian to an occasion where both sets of players will be doing all they can to lift the Premiership title.
We understand the level of excitement from fans and, as ever, our priority will be to ensure that all our fans to have a safe experience right across the weekend.
In these circumstances, we want to be very clear that only those supporters with valid season tickets and match tickets should visit Celtic Park. We are expecting a sell-out, 60,000 capacity crowd at the stadium and it is hugely important from a safety perspective that people without tickets do not come to the area.
The difficulties which are caused by an added volume of people can be hugely problematic for our supporters with tickets and our smooth Matchday operation.
In addition, we must ask those supporters WITH tickets to ensure they arrive at the stadium as early as possible. Again, the late arrival of supporters is problematic in terms of achieving a smooth entry to the stadium.
We fully respect the challenge that faces us on Saturday and we know we are facing a Hearts team that has led the way for some time. In order for us to be successful, we will need to be at our very best.
However, if we are fortunate enough to be successful on Saturday, we would ask our supporters to be mindful of the challenges which have been faced by Glasgow City Centre previously.
Celtic has met in recent weeks with Glasgow City Council. We understand that the pressure placed on the city on such occasions is immense. We know there have been instances in the past which have proved difficult for the local community in terms of movement, obstructions and impact on emergency services.
Glasgow City Council has committed to working together with football clubs on facilitating potential celebrations which would be meaningful to fans and less impactful on communities.
Until these options can be delivered, we need to play our role in trying to relieve some of the pressures. We are aware of some of the issues which have arisen, many of which have led to serious safety concerns.
Importantly, this Sunday, May 17, Glasgow will also host the Cancer Research 10k Race for Life, a charity event which requires significant planning and support from the city.
If successful on Saturday, we would absolutely want our fans to enjoy their own celebrations, but given these events and the wider logistics, we would therefore discourage supporters from attending gatherings in the city centre this weekend, where there is no safety management in place and which have such a high impact on the city. The pressure which is placed on the city and its services clearly will be enormous and we want to do all we can to support the city.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill knows how difficult Saturday will be and he will be doing all he can to deliver for our fans, but he echoed this call for our supporters to be safe and understanding of these concerns.
Martin O’Neill said: “It goes without saying that, if we are successful, we will all looking forward to enjoying it but it’s also important that we do so safely and responsibly. We want all our fans to be safe and ensure that we are mindful of others and our wider community.
“Our fans have such a great reputation for positively supporting the team and if we do achieve what we want at the weekend, we want that positive support to shine through again.
“Whatever the outcome on Saturday, everyone at the club thanks our fans for their wonderful continuing support.”
McInnes, the Hearts Foundation and the Scottish media have put huge pressure on the match officials. VAR will not intervene tomorrow to give a decision favourable to Celtic.
mncelt on 15th May 2026 1:20 pm
’79 in the Jungle was a lot of fun. There may even have been away fans in there back then, can’t recall when that stopped. Those were the days.
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I can only remember the Huns being in the JUNGLE in 1975 Glasgow Cup Final, which the Huns won 1-3.
I remember running battles and the Huns being chased into the Rangers end.
Outside on the streets was like Belfast 1975.
dearie me, daft statement o clock.
if you have a ticket be here early.
if you dont have a ticket dont come near the park.
if we do win dont celbrate in the toon.
i am going to guess, those without a ticket wil already be in the toon and up the gallowgate.
btw, 60,000 sell out, there better not be an empty seats.
About a decade ago, I found myself in a conversation with one of our suits. It was not long after a visit by that other lot. There had been some media mentioning the extent to which they had destroyed our toilets.
It was said to me that neither us or them send a bill for the damage. It was just a cost of business. Our lot wreck their toilets, then their lot wreck ours. This helped to keep the details out of the public, and doesn’t give ideas to other visiting supporters.
I guess they need the money.
Weeron.
Paul67 et al
Well, before Motherwell the last time we played midweek, away to Aberdeen, was back in early March, ten weeks ago. Fitness wise we looked like we had played midweek matches in every one of those ten weeks.
Even our substiutes struggled to get up to speed, and we were running on empty in the last 10-15 minutes.
Force the pace of the game? Who is to say that is not Hearts tactic in an attempt to get the first goal? Not me.
True they have lost two of their best players, but Milne & Devlin are back, and they will still have a strong bench. We need to start on the front foot with he crowd behind us, somehow get the better of the midfield, not easy with Devlin on harrying CalMac, use both flanks when we can, with KT and AJ contributing, concentrate from the word go. Hearts may well play for fouls late in the game if the result is going their way, but doubt if they will rely on that early doors. We will need leadership on the pitch, Trusty & Scales best placed to offer it and make good use of our own bench, even if only to break up their rythm. Got a few goalscorers of our own, gonna need them.
Read that again.
Celtic are being suckered. Why bother commenting at all ?
You are being set up, every broken bin, delayed busses, disrupted train signals, the barra plane landings and the ferries going over budget will now be placed as “Celtics fault”
why not just say sorry in a father jack type way,
or throw the game so these porr peoples dont have to suffer at all.
Suprised at Martin being drawn in,
Saint Stivs on 15th May 2026 2:12 pm
dearie me, daft statement o clock.
if you have a ticket be here early.
if you dont have a ticket dont come near the park.
if we do win dont celbrate in the toon.
i am going to guess, those without a ticket wil already be in the toon and up the gallowgate.
btw, 60,000 sell out, there better not be an empty seats.
I would think this is the club saying “we told them, so we can’t be held responsible” to the Council. In other words, we’re not liable.
The Spirit of the Blessed Martin O’Neill utterly terrifies the Scottish Tim hating establishment.
The Scottish establishment has always been Tim hating no matter who the Government is but Tims were always clued up enough to get around it.
The JUNGLE being removed created the all seated Val Doonican era of Timdom, and that is why the Scottish establishment views Tims as being there to be took.
The Wolfetones mindset filled JUNGLE vs the all seated silent Val Doonican’s makes Timdom weak as fk!
Its like the contrast of:
George Galloway kicking the utter hell out of the lobby controlled media.
vs
Jeremy Corbyn’s flowery words to the media whilst on his knees apologizing for things he never said.
Imho.
Sad is the all seated Tim era fooled by the one horse league bravado piss…
Looks like the police itching for a confrontation tomorrow…possibly still pissed off GB are back
When the post-split fixtures were announced with Celtic – Hearts as our final fixture we all hoped that it could somehow be the title decider, that we would be in with a chance of winning the SPL title when that day arrives.
And remember folks it’s us against the Neutrals…….canny have neutrals winning the war
bournesouprecipe on 15th May 2026 1:12 pm
Tounekti or McCowan ?
That is the question
============================================
Too wee……..
…….or not too wee.
That’s another question .
MNCelt 1.20
There was indeed a small amount of Huns in the Jungle during the 4-2 game in 1979 .
I was late getting into the match and my usual spot sitting on the wall of vomitary no 7 was taken .
So my mate and I walked through the jungle bogs and up into the virtually empty sections that a few Huns were standing in .
I had a perfect view of Celtic rattling the bar near the end of the first half .
I can still see the bar reverberating in my minds eye .
At half- time the Huns end was rocking to “ I was born under a Union Jack “.
It was the loudest I have ever heard an opposition support sing .
They were on for their 3rd treble in 4 years I think ?
I couldn’t stand listening to them ,so we made our way back to the very front of the Celtic end .
This is my favourite ever Celtic match .
There was nothing quite like the old Jungle .
Ten men won the league .
THPT
The will target Rierney’s weakness in the air at the back post .
THPT
Tierney not Reirney
QUADBHOY on 15TH MAY 2026 1:32 PM
bournesouprecipe on 15th May 2026 1:12 pm
“Tounekti or McCowan ?
That is the question”
Neither for me.
Sini
AJ, Trusty, Scales, KT
CalMac Bernardo
Yang Reo Maeda
Nygren
Or move Reo left, Nygren back and Maeda up top.
Nygren in MF is a man down and we need both wings to attack and defend in unison as required.
—————————-
Yang gets a game all season because he can track back , Tounekti doesn’t have it in his game. BR and MON both prefer orthodox wide players left and right Luke McCowan was tried, but only made it till HT.
Hatate is odd man out and can’t get in the side tactically whereas before he was an auto pick as one of our best players.
The game has changed with the five sub rule IMO
GLENDALYSTONSILS on 15TH MAY 2026 2:43 PM
bournesouprecipe on 15th May 2026 1:12 pm
Tounekti or McCowan ?
That is the question
============================================
Too wee……..
…….or not too wee.
That’s another question .
————————————-
Played 👏
vinniethedog on 15th May 2026 2:27 pm
Looks like the police itching for a confrontation tomorrow…possibly still pissed off GB are back
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If they kettle the GB the morra we will struggle to cope.
A library atmosphere and CalMac telling the GK to fk about at the back is a recipe for disaster.
CalMac is working for Rodgers NOT MON Look Closer….
CalMac tried to give Motherwell a penalty the other night by tripping a well player in the box and then pointing with his shaking lying finger, and his lying smirking face to claim that it was an accident. lol
He does this for his true hero Brendan and wants to make the club look like a shambles without Brendan, and because he knows all seated Timdom fall for every PLC cheap sleekit trick, and are NOWHERE NEAR as sharp as JUNGLE terraced Timdom.
The GB were kettled when Barry Ferguson’s Hun misfits defeated Brendan’s Amigo’s in the silent Parkhead library.
The establishment will do anything to deny us this title.
We need to clean out the Celtic stables which have not been catered for properly since Rodgers was booted.
Look closer….
Ziggydoc1
You’re right. Here in Germany at least, there hasn’t been a story on Hearts in the Sportschau (main sport outlet from the public broadcaster) since January. In “Kicker” magazine there was a story yesterday, but it’s quite impartial. By the way, they say this about the penalty: “In the scramble, the 31-year-old’s (Nicholson’s) own wrist came up against his face, and he was unlucky that the ball bounced directly onto his hand—which was raised to his head. VAR called the referee over to the screen, which indeed showed the incident clearly.”
I’m torn
Should I be angry at the nonsense argued about Wednesday hand ball not being a penalty. The pictures clearly show it was clear hand ball at head height. All the pundits are making excuses on why it’s not a penalty. All different reasons
OR
The reaction is much sweeter knowing how irate they are. They are raging. McGinnis Boyd Robertson etc have lost there minds. It is great we have upset them so much. Hearts players on the park celebrating. That frustration is fantastic. It is so much better than the first 2goals. They are spewing
Can I not take a bit of both?
Success tomorrow will depend on how we deal with their free kicks and corners . They are not terribly sophisticated . They’ll lump balls to the far post for one of their big guys to knock it back into the mix for one of the nippier players like Braga . Deal with that and we will prevail .
Does anyone have a link to the `keeper`s `foul` on Maeda?