Barry Anderson: I watched Hearts 2-2 Celtic - here are my 3 key conclusions

Tynecastle Park vibrated amid a fever-pitch atmosphere on Sunday afternoon as Hearts and Celtic confronted one another in the ongoing Scottish Premiership title race.

The 2-2 final scoreline left both sides with a point each, which won’t be viewed as a disaster in either Edinburgh or Glasgow. Hearts, though, had more than enough scoring chances to win and stretch their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

Benjamin Nygren’s early free-kick gave Celtic a useful advantage but Stuart Findlay’s header cancelled that out shortly after half-time. Yang Hyun-jun restored the visitors’ advantage on 62 minutes. As expected, the game was played at a breathtaking tempo and ferocious pace given the high stakes for both teams. Celtic were reduced to 10 men on 76 minutes when defender Auston Trusty was red carded for denying Hearts forward Landry Kabore an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Claudio Braga’s late equaliser was then wildly celebrated by the home support, players and staff, pushing the decibel level even higher, as a point was eventually taken by both sides.

Here are my three key talking points from a match which didn’t contain too much skill or creativity, but plenty of endeavour and bite.

CRAIG GORDON OVER ALEXANDER SCHWOLOW

A huge decision on his goalkeeper by Hearts head coach, Derek McInnes. The Scotland internationalist is 43 and made only two club appearances this season, in recent matches against Dundee and St Mirren. He was pitched into this one for his vast experience of the fixture and enjoyed an early touch when he held Liam Scales’ header from Kieran Tierney’s corner. Then he was beaten by Nygren’s seventh-minute free-kick as Hearts conceded a cheap early goal from a set-piece. Gordon would have been expected to get to Nygren’s strike given it didn’t arc into the very top corner.

Scotland national coach Steve Clarke was sat in the stand at Tynecastle to assess any potential candidates for his World Cup squad. Gordon is almost certain to be included, even if he isn’t first-choice at club level come the end of the season. Hearts defender Craig Halkett, who wore the captain’s armband in Lawrence Shankland’s absence, may also be one national coaches are monitoring.

Gordon wasn’t unduly busy during the 90 minutes, with Celtic often lacking the quality to open Hearts up and create chances from open play. Their one free-flowing move brought them a second goal through Yang. New signing Tomas Cvancara outpaced the home defence for a low cross which Yang converted from close range. Gordon was left exposed and could do little to stop his team falling behind for the second time in the afternoon. He would have been delighted to see Braga draw Hearts level once again.

MARC LEONARD’S HEARTS DEBUT

Signed on loan from Birmingham City on Friday, thrown into the biggest game of Hearts’ season two days later. Fouled Nygren for the free-kick from which Celtic scored the opening goal. Had a slightly erratic start to the match before settling into a really composed performance. Played very deep, often in between Hearts’ two centre-backs, which allowed Celtic more space when they had possession in midfield in the first 45 minutes.

Leonard undoubtedly has the pedigree to be a useful acquisition for Hearts and, as the game progressed, he adjusted to the frenetic pace. There was no quarter asked or given at Tynecastle and the midfield area in particular was a physical and uncompromising place to be. Leonard didn’t hesitate to compete or put a foot in when necessary. He is the type of ball-playing midfielder who shows up better with a bit more time and space to think and execute passes. There was no chance of that against Callum McGregor, Nygren and Arne Engels.

On 41 minutes, Leonard slid in for a loose ball on the halfway line and got to the ball ahead of McGregor. The Celtic captain made contact with his opponent but no foul was given. Leonard spun around and remained on the turf for a few seconds as referee Steven McLean allowed play to continue. It was one of umpteen occasions when the official allowed infringements by Celtic players to go unpunished. Hearts began to grow exasperated at the situation with half-time approaching.

Frustration turned to jubilation minutes after the restart when Leonard supplied the corner which brought the equaliser. His deliberate delivery to the back post was met by Findlay’s forehead for an important goal at an important juncture of the game. It imbued those in maroon with more confidence after seeing Alexandros Kyziridis miss a clear scoring chance near the end of the first half. Leonard remained on the field as Celtic restored their advantage, which was then cancelled out by Braga’s late equaliser. His quality showed more and more as the game progressed. He was showing to receive possession, putting his foot on the ball when needed and playing the one-touch football if he didn’t have space.

His intelligence to adapt mid-game and play quicker when necessary was a theme of Hearts’ second-half performance. He finished his competitive debut at Tynecastle with a good performance overall and an assist for Findlay’s header.

PREMIERSHIP TITLE RACE

Hearts remain six points clear of Celtic and four ahead of Rangers at the top of the league. Regardless of whether they feel that points advantage should be greater given the chances they created on Sunday, they are still in a commanding position in the title race. With injuries and suspensions kicking in, they have played Celtic three times and are yet to lose. Two wins and a draw is a good return against the champions.

Hearts must now maintain momentum with some big games on the fixture list against Dundee United, St Mirren, Hibs and Rangers. The challenge for any team serious about winning the league is to cope when pressure intensifies during February, March and April. So far, the Hearts squad have handled pretty much every challenge thrown at them. Losing Cammy Devlin and Shankland definitely weakens their team, but there are reinforcements and deputies to step in.