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Hearts celebrate their equalizer against Celtic. Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images They left the pitch to the sound of their fans singing: “We shall not be moved. ” Heart of Midlothian had not won, they had not beaten Celtic to turn a six-point advantage over the Scottish champions into a nine-point chasm; but crucially, having been behind twice and lacking their two best players, Hearts, in their old maroon, had not lost. Advertisement The 2-2 result at the end of a pulsating, dramatic afternoon at historic, raucous Tynecastle means Hearts still lead the Scottish Premiership. It means there is still a chance this 152-year-old club in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city, can be unlikely modern disruptors and take the title away from Glasgow for the first time since 1985. The domination of Celtic and Rangers overpowers Scottish football. Hearts’ first achievement this season has been to offer the possibility of an alternative. There are 15 games to go and Rangers’ 3-0 victory over Dundee at the same time as this match cuts Hearts’ lead to four points. There may not be a second act, Hearts may not win a first league title since 1960, but they have made everyone think twice. “I’m delighted with where we are, ” said the Hearts manager, Derek Mc Innes, when the four-point gap was put to him. At one stage, it had been eight. There are a lot of folk awaiting a maroon slip. Celtic going 1-0 up, then 2-1 ahead will have had those doubts hardened. But Mc Innes referenced his players’ perseverance and at least three squandered clear-cut chances and noted: “That it’s a disappointed dressing room illustrates how far we’ve come. “But we’re aware there are big clubs and good teams desperate to be where we are and we’ve got to be ready for that challenge. I’ve said all along we’ll have to keep improving, but if the fans keep that connection with the team today, who knows where it can take us? ” Even Martin O’Neill, Celtic’s manager, could see and feel the stimulation Hearts’ unforeseen challenge has brought. O’Neill went over to salute the small section of Celtic fans as Hearts players took a weary lap of appreciation and then acknowledged their home stadium, Tynecastle, and the bigger picture. “Obviously I’m manager of Celtic so I don’t see it like that, ” O’Neill said about the excitement of this rare three-way title race. “But when I wasn’t manager, I thought it was a really good thing. It does stimulate interest. You’ve seen the crowd today. It’s been a great run by them, they’re doing brilliantly. ” It is an unusual name, Heart of Midlothian. It is derived from the ancient Edinburgh Tolbooth, which became a 19th century prison, scaffold and all. A local dancing club later took on the name and some of those dancing started different foot movements in 1874. They formed the club which since 1886 has played at Tynecastle. Advertisement The part of the audience fresh to this season’s developments may recall Hearts’ brief appearance in series 2 of Succession — Roman Roy buys the club as a gift for his Scottish father, the domineering Logan, only to discover Logan supports Hibs, Hearts’ Edinburgh rivals. It is the kind of error Logan scorns with his line: “You are not serious people. ” Hearts, the real club, embraced the mention, in 2021 producing a limited edition jersey with the series’ fictional company Waystar Royco as its sponsor across the front. But in the lopsided reality of Scottish football’s economy, they have not often been serious contenders, not like this. ❤️ ? Waystar | Royco @NOW pic. twitter. com/P6he MCm3Aq — Heart of Midlothian FC (@Jam Tarts) October 18, 2021 Here was the third Hearts-Celtic meeting of the season. In the 12-club Scottish Premiership teams face each other three times until a ‘split’ after 33 games are played. The two sections of six then play against their five competitors, taking the total games to 38. Unless there is a total collapse from one of them, Hearts and Celtic will meet again after the split, this time in Glasgow. In last season’s split, Hearts were in the bottom half, an indication of the surprise they have sprung this season. In the final league table, they were 40 points behind Celtic. Their improvement has been remarkable and everywhere, from recruitment to dugout to pitch. Mc Innes arrived last May, then 53 and at his fifth club in management. Soon Tony Bloom, owner of English Premier League club Brighton, acquired a 29 per cent stake for £10m and his Jamestown Analytics company started delivering players from places such as Slovakia and Norway. Hearts’ 87th-minute equalizer was scored by one of those players, Claudio Braga. And, as they do, immediately the crowd began singing his name to the tune of Queen’s Radio Gaga. Advertisement Another signing, Alexandros Kyziridis, had scored when the two clubs met for the first time this season. That was here in October. Hearts’ rise has in part been facilitated by the self-inflicted demise of Celtic and Rangers over 2025. Danny Rohl became the fourth Rangers coach of that year in October. O’Neill is both the third Celtic manager of the season and the fourth appointment. The first, Brendan Rodgers, was removed the day after Celtic’s last visit here in October, a 3-1 Hearts win. It was not long after Rodgers’ infamous Honda Civic-Ferrari comment regarding Celtic’s summer recruitment. Rodgers is now in Saudi Arabia on Ferrari money. The immediate consequence of his Celtic departure was O’Neill’s return to the club. He stepped into an inflammable situation with a fire extinguisher. Time and breathing space were bought. On the pitch, if not off it, Celtic recovered to win seven of their next eight matches. A measure of stability was restored. The time allowed Celtic to bring in Wilfried Nancy, the former Columbus Crew head coach. His first game was Hearts at home and unfortunately for Nancy, even with 72 per cent possession, Celtic lost 1-2. Hearts had won in Glasgow for the second time this season, having beaten Rangers at Ibrox in September. When Rangers arrived at Tynecastle just before Christmas, Hearts won again. Four matches against the Glasgow duopoly had brought 12 out of 12 points. Last season, those first four fixtures yielded one out of 12. It is now 13/15. But Mc Innes will take that. He was missing captain and goalscorer Lawrence Shankland. Also absent was Cammy Devlin, the midfield dynamo powering Hearts. It is an imperfect comparison but ten years after Leicester City’s out-of-nowhere Premier League title surge, Shankland is Hearts’ Jamie Vardy and Devlin their N’Golo Kante. Both should return by March, and more players are coming from Jamestown. Celtic have had their own injuries — Cameron Carter-Vickers is a major loss. His US partner, Auston Trusty, will be suspended, having been shown a red card with the score at 1-2. O’Neill said he didn’t think it was even a “blue” card. Braga’s goal came 10 breathless minutes later. In minute 90+8, Hearts substitute Blair Spittal hit the bar. Advertisement Both Celtic and Rangers are still in Europe and the Scottish Cup. Hearts are in neither. Yet Celtic, winners of 13 of the last 14 titles, remain favourites again. Even in the bookmakers nearest Tynecastle. Some cannot get their heads around Hearts being Scottish champions come May. But it can happen. First published in The Observer in 1990, Michael Walker has covered World Cups and European Championships for various UK and Irish newspapers. Author of two football books – ‘Up There’, on England’s North-east, and ‘Green Shoots’, on Ireland. Follow Michael on Bluesky @mwalkerfoot. bsky. social.