Celtic’s draw with Hearts was a game packed with controversy, goals and good old fashioned blood and thunder football.
New Celtic striker Tomas Cvancara was handed his debut at Hearts and the Czech striker acquitted himself well with a superb assist for Hyunjun Yang’s goal.
Celtic defender Auston Trusty’s red card changed the course of the game as the Bhoys played out yet another fixture with a man down.
Is Martin O’Neill correct? The Celtic boss was fuming!
Hoops boss Martin O’Neill fumed at the decision and emphatically said ‘it wasn’t a penalty’ as the Northern Irishman raged at full time.
However, there was controversy at Benjamin Nygren’s Celtic goal after Derek McInnes ‘rushed’ the Hoops bench as the midfielder celebrated.
And what the Hearts boss did to the Celtic players off-camera before kick-off may explain the dugout confrontation.
- READ MORE: Martin O’Neill explains Tomas Cvancara Celtic start vs Hearts with ‘Henrik Larsson’ reminder
BBC’S Ryan Stevenson spots McInnes ‘eyeballing’ Celtic players
BBC pundit Ryan Stevenson shared how McInnes left his pre-match interview with the broadcaster and made his way into the Tynecastle semi-circle to stare at the Celtic players doing their warm-up.
Stevenson told Richard Gordon on BBC Sportsound, “I watched them warming up there. They look at it, as I said, there’s an amazing buzz round about the stadium. Derek seems fired up.
“It’s the first time I’ve actually ever saw him, after he’s done his interview with, with Brian [McLaughlin], he walked out on the middle of the park, and he actually stood there and just watched Celtic warm up, and he just, he’s eyeballing the Celtic players.
Gordon: “That’s interesting because I saw a close up on the screen there, and I just assumed that he was watching the Hearts players, but it was it was Celtic he was studying closely.”
McInnes watch Celtic stars warm up for ‘a good minute’
It seems McInnes was trying to play mindgames in the lead up to the Tynecastle kick-off as Stevenson shared the Hearts boss’ bizarre behaviour towards the Celtic team.
Stevenson: “Yeah, he literally left Brian and he walked straight out onto the centre circle and he just stood for a good minute, minute and a half, just staring at the Celtic players warming up.
“And again, I just love all that side of things. Now if I’m a Celtic player, I’m going in there saying the complete opposite.
“Look at him standing looking at us. We need to go out there and show him what we’re all about, but I just like it.”
If McInnes was trying to psyche the Celtic players out, it didn’t work. Martin O’Neill’s side struck first as the Hoops showed their intent from the kick-off.
And it seems that Nygren was giving it back to the Hearts boss and McInnes simply could not handle it.
Tiredness and being down to 10 men ultimately cost Celtic a win against Hearts, not the Tynecastle boss’ childish attempt to look like a cardboard hardman.
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