Five minutes to go and it was all Motherwell. A shot blocked, another shot saved, on the rebound – a goal. When the news hit Tynecastle it was as if Hearts themselves had scored.
As you were, then. Celtic would need to win by three clear goals again. Hearts, meanwhile, were making it 3-0 through Blair Spittal. Professional and clinical. Not a trace of the heat getting to them. Everything was coming up maroon.
Only, it wasn’t. The late penalty sparked pandemonium. The game deep in added time, Sam Nicholson of Motherwell, arm in the air and rising above Auston Trusty.
Then, the sight that would have sent a chill up the spine of every Hearts fan – referee John Beaton stopping dead in his tracks with his finger to his ear. VAR on the line.
As Beaton made his way back from the monitor and pointed to the spot with an astonishing amount of conviction given the scant evidence of an offence, a voice among the Motherwell fans was picked up on radio: “The game’s done,” it said.
The Scottish FA is probably going to bend over backwards to defend the call – handball when it looked to all the world that Nicholson had nutted it clear with his head – but it was given and it was converted and few could quite believe it.
That decision may yet have a profound impact on the destination of the title. We may not have heard the last of this. Future generations might mull this one over.
A shocked Motherwell manager, Jens Berthel Askou, said that in no other world would it have been given. It cost him league points and he was furious.
An enraged McInnes said it was a “disgusting” decision that left him feeling like “we’re up against everybody”. It could end up costing Hearts a whole lot more than it cost Motherwell.
Social media was ablaze. Gary Lineker was watching and he couldn’t fathom it. He was not alone.
That’s a second big call that’s gone against Hearts in a week. They were denied a penalty late on at Motherwell on Saturday; one point could have become three. McInnes said his team needed a siege mentality to deal with… well, he stopped short of spelling it out but you caught his drift.
In the aftermath, O’Neill spoke about the character of his players and their ability to dig themselves out of trouble, a trait that might be enough to see them retain their title. They’re not a compelling team, but they have spirit and motivation. Saturday could, and should be a classic.
McInnes tried to be measured but the dam burst a little when he spoke about the decisions he feels are going against his club. He was proud but irate.
“Am I missing something?” he asked when offering his views on why it shouldn’t have been a penalty for Celtic. The befuddlement on his face was clear.
