Celtic's never-say-die spirit leaves rivals heartbroken

CELTIC 2-2 HEARTS

GLENN GIBBONS AT CELTIC PARK

OWNERSHIP of an unbeaten home record that stands at 76 matches played over two and a half years seems to fill Celtic with the kind of insane jealousy that made Othello the very embodiment of the green-eyed monster.

In exercising this possessiveness, the Parkhead side, unlike Shakespeare’s infamous Moor, would probably not go quite as far as murder. But there is now a body of evidence which suggests that a threat to their domain brings on a fever, even a delirium, in which anything is possible.

It does not require an elephantine memory to recall the match against Dundee United, just seven weeks ago, when Martin O’Neill’s side trailed to Alan Archibald’s goal until a late frenzy of aggression brought counters from Chris Sutton and substitute Shaun Maloney that gave them a 2-1 victory and left Ian McCall and his players dazed by a sense of injustice.

Even more recently - on 14 March, to be precise - there was the horror-filled moment when Motherwell also established an advantage. This was taken so seriously that O’Neill, who had attempted to rest a number of his overworked regulars to cope with a demanding schedule, was moved to unleash Henrik Larsson from the bench, the great Swede delivering the equaliser soon after.

This latest manifestation of the dread of surrendering an exceptional distinction vindicated the suspicion that, although O’Neill has said that he expects his team to lose a league game at some stage of this singular season, he and his players will go to extraordinary lengths to ensure it happens on somebody else’s turf.

No amount of exposure to Celtic’s resilience, however, could have prepared anyone for the resurrection they completed against Hearts on a day when Craig Levein’s well-drilled, committed, confident and menacing side not only appeared to have put the home team in the ground, but to have begun chiselling the epitaph on the headstone.

It was hardly surprising that the Hearts players should suddenly have acquired the look of haunted men as they sloped off at the finish, glassy-eyed and pallid, as though they had just had a brush with the supernatural. By the time the always-impressive Levein reached the media centre 25 minutes later, however, he was able to rationalise events that would have left lesser men zombie-esque.

Quick-witted, insightful and ever ready to offer a balanced view, Levein even managed, astonishingly, to demonstrate a sense of humour that seems impervious to sabotage. Having seen his players establish a 2-0 lead through Kevin McKenna and Mark de Vries and lose it in the closing five minutes to goals from Chris Sutton and Didier Agathe, the Hearts manager’s equilibrium appears to be bombproof.

"I probably would have accepted a point at five to three this afternoon, but not at twenty to five," said Levein. "But, even when we were two ahead so close to the finish, I never thought it was in the bag. Celtic didn’t get to where they were at the start of the day, 19 points clear in the league, by giving up, even at two down.

"The point is that our team did a lot of things very well, but when a team comes under pressure, there is a tendency to drop back into a more defensive mode. Goalkeepers feel safer because it looks more re-assuring to have a lot of maroon jerseys in front of them. But, in fact, it’s safer to play the game further upfield.

"The further you are from your own goalkeeper, the better it is. The thing is, we’re a pretty strong team mentally. I mean, we’ll keep going for the 90 minutes and it’s usually us who claw something back late in the game. I don’t think what happened today has happened to us in the past couple of years. Maybe once, but not at two goals ahead.

"There’s a difference in the kind of strength and commitment required to chase a match to get something back and that which is needed to defend a lead - and all credit to Celtic for having what they needed.

"It could be argued that we could have won the game, but they’ll think, quite rightly, that they deserved to get the draw."

It was when he was asked about the head injury to McKenna, caught accidentally by the challenging Bobo Balde, that Levein impulsively leaned on his natural humour.

"I don’t know, but I think I could still tell you better than he could. I think two cherries came up in his eyes," said the coach.

"At that stage, he didn’t seem to know which we he was supposed to be shooting. I think when that happens, it’s probably a good idea to take them off."

McKenna had already slotted a left-foot drive past David Marshall in the first half and, when substitute Mark de Vries doubled the advantage with a quick turn and a low, left-foot shot to the left of Marshall, Hearts appeared home and hosed.

Even after Sutton had netted the rebound after Craig Gordon had blocked his first attempt - this after 87 minutes - de Vries should have restored the visitors’ two-goal lead.

The Dutch striker, with only Marshall to beat from close range, took his eye off a cross from the left and the ball bobbled away for a goal-kick.

In that moment, it was easy to predict that Celtic would effect the impossibly dramatic rescue, which Agathe confirmed with a half-volley into the roof of the net from close range.

Taken from the Scotsman