Law and disorder at Celtic Park: How fans turned on board as Shankland sparks Hearts' day of redemption

There was civil war inside Parkhead as Jambos torched 16 years of history

It started with one supporter standing up to vent his fury in the direction of Michael Nicholson, the Celtic chief executive. It quickly spread. Applause from all across the main stand for that passionate outpouring of emotion was followed by chants all across the stadium of “Lawwell, get out” and “sack the board”.

​Soon the fans were at each other’s throats. One brave individual not reading the room tried to defend the directors but was quickly shut down by those around him and eventually ejected by the stewards, presumably for his own safety as much as anything else. His pal was turfed out not long afterwards.

There weren’t many left by the time Brendan Rodgers and his players, somewhat sheepishly, did their traditional post-match circuit of the stadium beyond the small clutch of Hearts fans who could scarcely believe what they had witnessed. Turning their backs to perform an ironic “huddle” in the away end was the final ignominy on a remarkable day at Celtic Park.

Celtic fans exchange words with members in the directors box including CEO Michael Nicholson.

The statistics were damning. A first home domestic defeat since January 2021, the first time Celtic had lost two league games in a row for more than a decade, a five-point lead at the top of the table that will be erased if Rangers can win their two games in hand. What a mess Celtic find themselves in.

The loss last weekend to Kilmarnock was a warning sign but the midweek Champions League victory over Feyenoord was meant to be the spark that would get them back on track. Instead this was another setback so grievous that it threatened to spark a civil war.

The Green Brigade remain banned and instead of singing there was only jeering, cat-calls and angry remonstrations. There was a sarcastic cheer when Mikey Johnston didn’t return after an ineffective first half and howls of derision when Joe Hart twice came out to punch a high ball rather than catch it.

But mostly it was the directors who bore the brunt of the ire for a recruitment strategy that has left Rodgers with a squad ill-equipped to deal with even the most basic of challenges. Turning to his bench to try to retrieve a two-goal deficit, having stuck on Daizen Maeda and Hyeong-gyu Oh at half-time, there was nobody who could help beyond 32-year-old James Forrest. When the lesser-spotted full-back Alexandro Bernabei appeared to replace Luis Palma in attack it felt less of a substitution and more of a cry for help.

Stephen Kingsley scores to make it 2-0 to Hearts.

What ought to send alarm bells ringing was just how passive Celtic were in the second half as Hearts coasted through to their first league win on this ground since 2007. There was no fight, no spirit, no defiance. Bottom side Livingston are the visitors next weekend and Celtic – surely – cannot play with the same paucity of invention and verve as they demonstrated here.

In contrast, this was a day of redemption for Hearts. Under pressure following their defeat by Aberdeen last weekend and then a stormy annual general meeting in midweek, this was the perfect tonic for manager Steven Naismith as he steered Celtic to a first success in Glasgow’s East End since a League Cup win in 2009.

Once more he had cause to give thanks to Shanks. After all, where would Hearts be without Lawrence Shankland and his goals? Scrubbing around in the lower reaches of the division probably.

The over-reliance on one player to find the net is rarely a successful long-term strategy but for as long as their captain keeps his tally ticking over Hearts will continue to remain competitive.

It was a big win for Hearts manager Steven Naismith.

Shankland had headed his team in front at Ibrox two months earlier and repeated the trick here after just 15 minutes. Celtic had survived an incursion into their box just moments earlier – the returning Cameron Carter-Vickers heading Stephen Kingsley’s cross away – but didn’t heed the lesson.

From the resultant Jorge Grant corner, Shankland was afforded all the time and space in the world to nod his team in front to claim a lucky-for-some 13th club goal of a productive season.

Hearts’ second was even better. Carter-Vickers fouled Nathaniel Atkinson and Kingsley’s free kick from around 30 yards out was perfect as it flew past goalkeeper Hart. There was less seen of Hearts in an attacking sense after the break but neither did they look in any difficulty at the back, with no sign of a Celtic comeback. This was a day to forget from their perspective, a joyous one for those in maroon.