Hearts 0 Celtic 2…We are the Champions!

It’s great to be alive! For the 53rd time, we are the Champions of Scotland, and glory be to Ange and his men! Caitlin Hayes got the afternoon off to a start with her good last minute winner against Partick Thistle for the Ghirls, and then we changed channels and we saw the Bhoys in a thoroughly professional second half after a sub-standard first half score twice and win the Scottish League yet again. Glory be!

There was one black mark, and we really have to say that Hearts had a very bad break from VAR. We have had our complaints about VAR this season, but today we got something that we really did not need, and might be used to detract somewhat from our triumph.

Sympathy for Alex Cochrane and Hearts for what was a huge error from our own much loved Willie Collum. It was certainly a foul, but I even questioned a yellow card, let alone the outrageous red card. I hope Cochrane wins his appeal. And we would have won without it in any case, I feel! It is a pity that the referee did not stick to his original decision.

But that said, the rest of the day was all good. Two good goals, along with solid defending and midfield work. We are worthy champions, and how good were the interviews at the end! Callum McGregor mentioned the word “privilege” to play for Celtic; Joe Hart talked about how special Celtic are, and Ange was at his modest best. This is no ordinary football club.

So let us enjoy the next few days, but we are not finished yet! The remaining League games need to be won to prove just how good we really are, and then there is the Scottish Cup final against Inverness. (Once again, I say “remember Feyenoord” and don’t take them too lightly!), And all the time, we should be thinking of Europe next year! It is a pleasant thought!

But in the meantime 1893, 1894, 1896, 1898, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1922, 1926, 1936, 1938, 1954, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and welcome 2023! That adds up to 53! Not bad for an organisation which started off providing free meals for poor children!

David Potter