Hearts stay five points clear at top of Scottish Premiership as Dundee shock Celtic at Dens Park
Hearts legend Steven Pressley guided Dundee to a 2-0 win over Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic which has opened the gap at the top of the league table.
Hearts went five points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table on Saturday after a convincing 3-0 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in head coach Derek McInnes’ return to the Ayrshire club.
Jambos’ fans spent the night celebrating that result and their lead at the top of the league table while hoping that Dundee could do them a favour on Sunday as they hosted reigning champions Celtic. That feeling was certainly more hope than any sort of expectation though with Brendan Rodgers’ side entering the fixture as heavy favourites.
However, former Hearts skipper Steven Pressley masterminded a shock result against another of his old club as the Dark Blues beat the Hoops 2-0 at Dens Park. That means, with both clubs having played eight matches, the Edinburgh side maintain that five point advantage at the top of the table.
Hearts open gap at top of Scottish Premiership with huge opportunity to extend lead further
Dundee skipper Clark Robertson got the hosts off to the perfect start with an 18th minute goal. Then, in first half stoppage time, a Cameron Carter-Vickers own goal doubled their advantage.
Celtic had plenty of chances to get back into the match and even had a penalty award struck off by VAR. Dundee also had opportunities to go 3-0 up but in the end it ended 2-0 with the Dark Blues recording a memorable and important win.
Next up for Hearts, they face their toughest test of the season when Celtic visit Tynecastle on Sunday. If Derek McInnes’ side can get the win at home then they will be a massive eight points clear of the Hoops.
However, even if Celtic do win that match, Hearts will remain top of the table after the next round of matches. It’s a truly incredible situation they find themselves in with a massive opportunity in front of them.
Kilmarnock 0-3 Hearts: what Derek McInnes said after Rugby Park triumph
Speaking after Hearts 3-0 win over Kilmarnock on Saturday, head coach Derek McInnes said: “It’s notoriously difficult coming here. There was a great turnout from our fans who came with great expectation. We felt it in the warm-up and it had the makings of a cup game.
“First part of the game, it was so frantic and Kilmarnock were better. We didn’t look after the ball enough, gave away stupid free-kicks and invited pressure. We allowed those things to build but we have to accept we won’t always get it our own way.
“You’ve got to come through that. The goal helped. It was a brilliant set-play and it can’t be underplayed. It was a great delivery from Harry Milne and a bullet header from Halkett. He’s one of the best headers of a ball I’ve worked with. He’s so aggressive and determined. It was an old fashioned header. He headed it properly that was probably the difference in the first half.
“We spoke about trying to make sure when their press came on we had to make sure we looked after the ball better and we connected the game better with Braga and Shankland. As it became stretched we kept the ball well and Kyziridis and Braga and Shankland. We scored two in quick succession and we were very professional and made changes to see the game out.
“I was delighted with the three goals. It wasn’t straightforward but we had work to do and had to respect the challenge and dealt with it. The goals were good but four clean sheets in a row are what results are built on.”