Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard in action. (Getty Images)
Celtic scored in stoppage time to seal a crucial 2-1 victory against Hearts. Celtic’s first fixture since Brendan Rodgers’ departure to Leicester started out extremely frantically. Neither team was able to get a real grip on the game right from the off.
A few minutes in, the trend of the game didn’t change as the pace was high and the game was box-to-box. The Hoops were trying to move the ball around but were unsuccessful due to some shabby passing all around.
As the minutes wore on, it was the home side that started to knock on the door first as they looked to upset the league leaders. However, they were still unable to get a solid grip on the ball and pushed on to find the opener in this erratic match.
It was the away side that finally opened the scoring though as Celtic broke quickly from the back. Scott Sinclair carried the ball forward before tapping it around the corner for Oliver Burke to run into.
He sprinted towards goal and did the unselfish thing by putting it on a plate for James Forrest to tap in and make it 1-0 to the team that had been in the ascendancy overall over the course of the first period.
What was possibly the moment of the game came in the 44th minute though when Jamie Brandon was given a straight red card for running into a challenge with his elbow going in first.
In the second half, the trend of the game continued as the Hoops kept moving the ball around with real ease. They were comfortable in possession and didn’t seem to be under too much of a threat.
But in the 56th minute, Celtic gifted Hearts an equaliser when a defensive error saw Uche Ikpeazu nick the ball of Kristoffer Ajer but the defender’s stretched attempt to regain the ball caught the forward and substitute Oliver Bozanic made no mistake from the spot to make the scoreline 1-1.
After this, Celtic began to pile on the pressure as they looked to get the win that would keep them 8 points clear of Rangers but Hearts seemed hellbent on defending their point.
Even in the final stages of the game, despite tons of Hoops pressure, the home side were still a massive threat on the break and they were able to create some decent chances in an and around the Celtic box, but never really looked like converting them.
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Finally, in the final knockings of stoppage time, a cross from Scott Brown found Odsonne Edouard in the box, who had lost his man. The forward volleyed the ball into the net with great aplomb to stun the hearts fans into silence and seal a crucial 2-1 victory.
Here’s how some thrilled Celtic fans reacted to this late victory:
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