Hearts 1-2 Celtic: Edouard late show seals win for Neil Lennon on Hoops return

Odsonne Edouard wheels away after netting a late winner for Celtic. Picture: SNS Group

Hit by considerable upheaval on the eve of one of the trickiest assignments on the fixture card they scored a winner in added time to secure a valuable win in Neil Lennon’s first match back in charge.

Their cause was certainly helped by Hearts being reduced to ten men on the stroke of half-time after 21-year-old full back Jamie Brandon, making his first start in a year, was red carded for a reckless flying elbow that struck opposite man Jeremy Toljan on the side of the head. But a penalty scored by substitute Ollie Bozanic, after Kristoffer Ajer took down Arnaud Djoum, brought Hearts level ten minutes into the second-half.

Dropping two points against opponents reduced to ten men for more than half the game could only be interpreted as a setback but Lennon avoided this fate.

He might even take some credit for the outcome having sent match winner Edouard on for Ewan Henderson, who was just 13 when Lennon was last in charge of Celtic, shortly after the hour mark.

It was a sickening conclusion for the home team, who had conceded the opener against the run of play. While Rodgers and Lennon were the figures at the forefront of most people’s minds it was crafty Craig Levein whose game management helped Hearts to within sight of an unlikely point. But then Scott Brown picked out Edouard on the edge of the six-yard box and the striker side-footed into the net to send the previously subdued away fans into raptures.

Lennon, too, momentarily failed to control his emotions and wheeled onto the pitch although there was no aeroplane gesture on this occasion. He has already firmly usurped Rodgers in the Celtic supporters’ affections.

Some away fans made their feelings clear before kick-off when unravelling a banner that left no room for misinterpretation: “You traded immortality for mediocrity. Never a Celt. Always a fraud.”

Lennon took his place in the dugout and watched the kind of rumbustious opening he will be familiar with from Edinburgh derbies, the last of which played at this venue saw him felled by a coin thrown by a supporter. There was, if anything, even more intensity to the occasion and, after an even opening, Hearts began to pin Celtic back with two chances falling for them in quick succession from corners midway through the first-half.

First Sean Clare connected first time with Olly Lee’s corner and sent a volley towards Scott Bain’s far post with the ‘keeper tipping superbly round the post. From a corner on the other side Uche Ikpeazu headed just over.

Steven Naismith was as busy as ever and created a chance for himself after robbing the dithering Dedryck Boyata around 25 yards from goal. Under considerable pressure from the fretting Boyata he sent his shot wide. When Brown was booked for upending Peter Haring it emphasised the feeling Hearts were rattling Celtic.

But as so often happens, the dominant side proved vulnerable to a quick break from the opposition. There is no side better for racing up the park than Celtic, whose front three of Scott Sinclair, Burke and James Forrest caught Hearts out after 36 minutes. Sinclair did the hard yards up the left wing with the ball at his feet before he squared for Burke, who took the unselfish decision to transfer the ball wide to Forrest when he could have taken a shot on himself. It proved the right choice since it removed goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal from the equation: Forrest had made good ground to tap the ball into an empty net for the first goal of the latest Lennon era.

Worse was to follow for Hearts when they were reduced to ten men shortly afterwards. Brandon did not even make half-time after he charged into Toljan with his elbow up in a bid to win a Scott Bain kick-out. It was reckless certainly but referee Steven McLean made no allowances for the player’s inexperience and ordered him to take the short journey down the tunnel.

The 21 other players followed him two minutes later. When they re-emerged Naismith had been replaced by Bozanic as Hearts looked to shore up the midfield. They exceeded this hope by drawing level just ten minutes after the re-start after Ajer was judged to have got the man before ball after Djoum exerted pressure following an attempted short pass out by Bain.

Such playing out from the back is a remnant of the Rodgers era. It hurt Celtic here. Bozanic converted confidently after it initially looked as if Ikpeazu would take the kick.

But any hopes Levein may have had of a battling point were dashed when Edouard turned Brown’s ball past Zlamal to get the second Lennon era off to a winning start.