On Saturday afternoon, two last-gasp goals saw Celtic record a 3-1 home win over title rivals Hearts to seal the SPL title. Heading into the 87th minute, the game was deadlocked at 1-1, with Hearts heading towards the title.
However, on 87 minutes, Japanese forward Daizen Maeda fired home to put the Hoops back in the driving seat in the title race.
The title was sealed with the last kick of the game as youngster Callum Osmand streaked forward and tapped into an empty net with the Jambos goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow out of his goal, desperately upfield in an attempt to aid his team’s search for an equaliser.
Heartbreaking result for Hearts
The result was heartbreaking for the visitors, who had been at the top of the SPL table for 250 days. The club from the Scottish capital had been dreaming of their first top-flight title since the 1959/60 season.
Hearts headed to Celtic Park two points ahead of the second-place home team, and the situation looked even more promising when top scorer and captain Lawrence Shankland headed home late in the second half.
However, the lead didn’t last, with Arne Engels scoring from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time. Celtic were always going to throw everything they had at the visitors in search of an equaliser.
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The Hearts’ defence stood firm until that heartbreaking moment when the Hoops finally found their second goal. It felt almost inevitable, as it’s the sort of moment that champions produce when it matters.
The third goal sent the ground into delirium, with a pitch invasion ensuring, and during that invasion, the referee blew the whistle for full-time.
For Hearts, the game represented their best chance to win the title in over six decades. However, in the end, they just fell short, but they will feel that they are better positioned to challenge the Hoops’ stranglehold on the SPL title in the future.
Big decisions cost Hearts
Hearts should feel hard done by, as big decisions in their own and Celtic games have gone against them in the last month. The biggest decision that didn’t go their way was during the recent draw against Motherwell, when, according to the Scottish FA Key Match Incident panel, they should have been awarded a penalty.
The Scottish FA have admitted an error over Hearts’ penalty claim at Motherwell. The KMI panel agreed that Alexandros Kyziridis should have been awarded a spot-kick for a foul by Tawanda Maswanhise.https://t.co/N3zytYNr5k
— Barry Anderson (@BarryAnderson_) May 15, 2026
If the correct decision had been made and they had scored, the title would already have been wrapped up before their trip to Parkhead on Saturday.
Everybody associated with the club will feel a major injustice, especially as Celtic were gifted a last-gasp penalty kick in a 3-2 victory over Motherwell in their penultimate SPL game, with Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho scoring with the spot kick.
Unfortunately for Hearts, both decisions went against them, and Celtic went on to win the SPL title for the 14th time in 15 seasons.