Red card sparks Celtic fightback

Celtic somehow came back from the dead to snatch a remarkable victory that strengthens their hand in the Bank of Scotland Premierleague title race.

Shortly before four o’clock yesterday, Heart of Midlothian seemed certain to cut the gap on the leaders to just one point. However, two dramatic goals from the most unlikely source, Stephen McManus, the Celtic defender, turned the occasion on its head and suddenly opened up a seven- point lead for Gordon Strachan’s side.

Hearts had been trying to run down the clock, clinging onto a 2-1 lead provided by Edgaras Jankauskas and Steven Pressley, when Panagiotis Fyssas was sent off in the 77th minute. The Greece defender was dismissed for bringing down Shaun Maloney on the edge of the penalty area and Ian Brines, the referee, instantly waved a red card in Fyssas’s face.

Graham Rix, the Hearts manager, felt his player had been harshly judged, claiming Maloney had been moving away from goal, but after the dismissal Hearts simply could not hang on. When McManus scored with an 87th-minute header to restore parity, some sides might have settled for a draw but Strachan could be seen telling Maloney to keep pressing for the winner and just seconds into stoppage time, McManus supplied it with a hook shot.

The 3,000 Celtic supporters behind Craig Gordon’s goal were overjoyed, but three quarters of the ground was in open revolt as the Hearts supporters mixed incredulity with rage.

The objects of the Tynecastle ire were Brines and the visiting players, particularly Neil Lennon. One fan was arrested for leaping onto the Perspex away dugout as abuse rained down on the referee and the Celtic players heading up the tunnel.

Rix’s players were not immune either, with television showing Paul Hartley guilty of lashing out at Ross Wallace in the dying seconds and Rudi Skacel manhandled away from the referee’s assistant, Tom Murphy, by the Hearts backroom staff.

“I thought the sending off was harsh,” Rix said when the dust had settled. “I am not sure if Fyssas made contact or whether Maloney was going to score. We played brilliantly in the first half and it is disappointing to play like that and get nothing. Seven points is a big gap but I am sure that if you ask Celtic, they will not say the league is over and that’s what we think.”

Strachan concurred. “I have not seen the sending off on television yet,” the Celtic manager said. “Maybe today we were the lucky team. Other times we have not been. We used that bit of luck and turned it to our advantage in the final minutes.”

Taken from timesonline.co.uk