There was a moment last week when the TV cameras were rolling and Martin O’Neill dispensed with all the usual flannel and the filibustering to lay it all on the line.
In the Celtic manager’s estimation, even with 15 games of this season remaining, a defeat for his side at Tynecastle was pretty much unthinkable. They wouldn’t quite be out of the title race but would be ‘a long way back’.
If there was an element of psychology in the veteran ratcheting up the danger level to Defcon 1 in the minds of his players, then it probably showed as they somehow clung on for the draw which ensures the lights haven’t yet gone out on their challenge.
Make no mistake, when Claudio Braga swivelled to slam home Hearts’ second equaliser of the day with three minutes and an age of injury time to play, O’Neill would have taken a share of the spoils in a heartbeat.
Reduced to 10 men for the second time in four days when Auston Trusty was dismissed after a VAR intervention, Celtic looked leggy and in danger of losing their grip on the title.
While a six-point gap to Hearts and a two-point deficit to Rangers is clearly not a pretty picture, it is still just about recoverable.
Hearts striker Claudio Braga scores the late equaliser that set up a tense finale at Tynecastle
Yang had put Celtic 2-1 ahead by converting a low cross from new loan signing Cvancara
Auston Trusty is shown a yellow card, later upgraded to red, for his challenge on Kabore
For all there will be immediate disappointment at not seeing out the victory, come May, O’Neill and his players might view this as a decent afternoon’s work.
There was much danger in the air for the champions on the back of an energy-zapping night in Bologna.
With Hearts unbeaten in the league at home this season, there was a great deal to suggest that a six-point gap might stretch to nine.
Celtic started brightly and deservedly hit the front early through Benjamin Nygren.
Hearts responded and levelled early in the second period only for Yang Hyun-jun to restore the visitors’ advantage on the counterattack.
Braga’s goal came after a period of sustained Hearts pressure and felt like it had been coming from the minute Trusty walked.
While Derek McInnes will be thrilled at the spirit his side showed to twice bounce back from a goal down, there will be a nagging sense that this was also an opportunity lost.
Normally so dependable, Alexandros Kyziridis spurned gilt-edged chances either side of the break. A little more composure from the Greek and Hearts, under the watchful eye of Tony Bloom, would be celebrating a third victory against Celtic this season.
Both managers handed out debuts. McInnes gave former Hearts youth player Marc Leonard a start following his loan move from Birmingham while O’Neill threw Tomas Cvancara in after his temporary switch from Borussia Monchengladbach.
At the start of Lawrence Shankland’s injury-enforced absence, the more physically imposing Landry Kabore was tasked with providing Hearts’ goal threat.
Celtic didn’t start like a team which had performed so admirably with 10 men for an hour in Italy.
On the front foot from the off, they out-ran and outfought their opponents, forcing errors and gaining territory.
Liam Scales might have done better when he directed a header straight at Craig Gordon, but it set a positive tone.
Leonard hadn’t played since New Year’s Day and that ring-rust showed as he let Nygren run off him with his tug offering Celtic a dead ball opportunity.
The Swede spotted the ball and wrapped his left foot around it. His strike had swerve and pace and arced majestically into the top right corner. Craig Gordon did not have a chance.
Although Braga worked Kasper Schmeichel with a tame low shot, Hearts just didn’t settle.
Their play lacked composure and fluency. Celtic dug in, were first to every loose ball and dominated. The work of O’Neill’s players off the ball ensured all available passing lines were shut off.
Kieran Tierney was cute when he nudged Harry Milne thus preventing his opponent from connecting with Kyziridis’s deep cross.
The frustration for McInnes was that his key players – the Greek and Braga – were at that stage on the periphery of the game.
For all O’Neill was keen to stress that Cvancara isn’t an out-and-out target man, it didn’t prevent the Czech’s teammates going long to him.
A cushioned lay-off threatened to let Daizen Maeda in for the second. The Japanese slashed his shot wide.
The game was pockmarked by fouls. Seeing either side string four passes together was rare indeed.
You felt Hearts’ best chance might actually stem from an error by a Celtic player.
After Milne had had a weak header saved by Schmeichel, Trusty’s lapse in concentration presented the men in maroon with their best opening of the first half.
After Michael Steinwender’s through ball, the American was suddenly chasing down Kyziridis. While Schmeichel did brilliantly to stretch out a leg and make a telling block, the winger simply shouldn’t have given him the opportunity.
McInnes needed a response. Within three minutes of the second half, he got one.
Leonard’s deep corner across the six-yard box challenged Celtic to clear their lines via a head or their goalkeeper’s fist. No visiting player took command of the situation.
Findlay kept his eye on the ball, met it firmly and squeezed it in at the near post. Tynecastle erupted.
Within seconds, the home side should have been ahead. A ball over the top dropped to Kyziridis. With the crowd expecting the net the bulge, the winger hesitated allowing Scales to produce a goal-saving tackle.
The game had come to life. Another Celtic surge saw Nygren float a cross into Cvancara. Gordon was flat-footed as the forward’s header bounced back off the bar.
The Czech had a very decent debut until he was taken off for his own good after being booked for an unwise shove on Findlay.
He played an integral part in Celtic’s second, taking Maeda’s flick on and accelerating down the left flank.
Assessing his options, his cross was inch perfect. Yang swept it home and celebrated wildly.
Hearts’ chances of salvaging a point, if not three, were boosted with 13 minutes remaining when Trusty clipped Kabore.
Referee Steven McLean initially produced a yellow on account of Dane Murray being in proximity but upgraded the punishment after reviewing the incident.
With the midweek exertions already evident, Celtic again found themselves hanging on.
Schmeichel did well to deny Braga after some pinball in the box but was helpless as the Portuguese slammed home the leveller with three minutes remaining from Oisin McEntee’s knockdown.
Hearts almost snatched it at the last knockings when Blair Spittal clipped the top of the bar. It ensured the right outcome was arrived at in the end.
