Hearts players and supporters had this much in common; they did not have a clue how to act or react. For eight minutes, with this game already at an end, the scene promised to be a euphoric one. Hearts, having swept Falkirk aside, were staring at the prospect of travelling to Celtic Park on Saturday needing only to avoid a three-goal defeat to win the league.
A twist lay in store. Deep in stoppage time at Motherwell, the controversial awarding of a penalty to Celtic and subsequent conversion materially altered the Hearts position. The whiff of cordite has been added to the mix. Derek McInnes, the Hearts manager, was so enraged by the Celtic call as to label it “disgusting”. He added: “I heard there was a 96th-minute penalty. I didn’t need to ask who for.
