Celtic were on the front foot from the first minute of their Scottish Premiership title decider against Hearts at Celtic Park, with Johnson drilling in an excellent low cross that a defender slid to block. By 2pm? No — by 12.30pm BST, the home side had already won a corner, and Auston Trusty headed over from the delivery in the third minute.
That was the clearest chance of the opening spell. Celtic sent in a long throw in the fifth minute that Steinwender flicked on, but nobody arrived to finish it, and by the 23-minute mark Trusty’s header remained the only effort on goal of note. Hearts, who had also been poor in the first 10 minutes against Falkirk in midweek, were again under pressure, though the visitors briefly steadied after Steinwender received treatment in the 15th minute and later came back on.
The match had already turned choppy by then. Heart physios returned in the 25th minute after Altena was clattered by Johnston, and the stoppages broke up Celtic’s rhythm just as they looked ready to turn pressure into a goal. Even so, the pattern was clear: Celtic were forcing the issue, Hearts were hanging on, and the title decider was being played almost entirely in the visitors’ half.
Nygren then chest-controlled the ball down 40 yards from the Hearts goal in the 27th minute, but the pass behind Maeda ran away and another opening disappeared. The next phase would tell whether Hearts could survive the early waves or whether Celtic, already setting the pace in a match live-updated throughout the afternoon, would turn the opening control into the result that would decide the season.
