Hearts Fans Confident Despite Controversial Penalty Keeping Celtic in Title Race
Hearts superfans remain confident their team will secure the Scottish Premiership title following a contentious 99th-minute penalty awarded to Celtic against Motherwell, which kept Celtic’s championship hopes alive.
"We've came this far and got this close - I'm still supremely confident we're going to get it over the line,"said Colin Brown, a dedicated Hearts supporter who traveled from Australia to witness the unfolding drama.
Hearts’ 3-0 win against Falkirk, combined with a Celtic defeat, would have clinched the league for the Tynecastle side with one game remaining. However, with both teams winning their matches, the title race will now be decided in the final fixture between Celtic and Hearts in Glasgow on Saturday.
Colin invested A$4,500 (£2,408) on flights to be in Edinburgh this week, hoping to see Hearts claim the Scottish Premiership crown.
If Hearts win, it will mark their first top-flight league title since 1960 and the first time in over 40 years that a club outside the Old Firm of Celtic and Rangers has won the league.
After Wednesday’s matches, Hearts sit on 80 points, the highest total ever achieved by a non-Old Firm team in Premiership history, with Celtic trailing by a single point on 79.
"We've been comfortable this season against Celtic so I've got all the faith in the team,"said Colin, originally from Edinburgh.
"The mentality that head coach Derek McInnes has drilled into the team is just phenomenal - they are a unit."
"I knew when I booked my flight it was going to go down to the last game and I maintain we are going to do it."
Last season, Hearts finished seventh, 42 points behind Celtic. Colin believes a draw at Parkhead will be sufficient for Hearts to secure the Premiership title this year.
The Edinburgh club last came close to winning the top-flight league in 1986 but lost the opportunity after a defeat to Dundee at Den’s Park, allowing Celtic to claim the trophy instead.
Despite the pressure on Hearts, Colin has managed to remain calm.
"Watching Hearts play last night and all season, the team get the job done and do what is required,"he said.
"I have got all my faith in this team."
Supporters Travel from Abroad to Witness Historic Title Bid
Colin is not alone in traveling internationally to support Hearts’ title challenge. Mark Speakman has spent over A$30,000 (£16,077) to be in Scotland for the last five matches of the season.
"I cannot put a price on it, if it cost £100,000 it would not bother me at all,"Mark said.
Mark, who has lived in Australia for 20 years, watches Hearts matches before work and took unpaid leave to travel to Edinburgh with his wife, 23-year-old son Kyle, and his son's girlfriend.
He expressed concerns about the fairness of the upcoming match after a late penalty was awarded to Celtic on Wednesday.
"After last night's game and what has happened this season with decisions and refereeing, we're possibly going to playing against 12 men - 11 players and the referee,"he said.
"But if Hearts show up and do the job, I'll be delighted.
Hopefully we'll be defending champions and I'll be back next year when Hearts are in the same position again."
Jenny Addison, a former Hearts season ticket holder for 20 years, moved to Auckland, New Zealand in 2018 but returned to Edinburgh for the final matches.
Having spent over 30 hours traveling back to Edinburgh, where her father still lives, she said she would have regretted not being present for this historic moment.
"Win or lose, I will be in floods of tears and I wanted to be doing that in Edinburgh rather than New Zealand,"Jenny told the BBC.
She acknowledged the controversy surrounding the last 48 hours of the season.
"If last night had been straightforward Hearts and Celtic wins, we could have talked about how amazing this season has been,"she added.
"It has been an absolute fairytale for Hearts."
Celtic Fans Confident Ahead of Title-Deciding Match
Conversely, Celtic supporters remain optimistic their team will secure their 14th Premiership title in 15 years with Saturday’s decisive match.
"Hearts have been great all season and they deserve to be where they are,"said Tino Callaghan from the Celtic Exchange podcast.
"But now Celtic have the chance to get the job done in front of 59,000 Celtic fans on Saturday and I think they'll do it."
Tino described Celtic’s season as "up-and-down" but noted their recent win at Fir Park keeps them firmly in contention.
"Hearts were impressive and got their big win, Celtic got their win and it's now a straight shoot out for the title which is as exciting as it can be,"he said.
"This is the biggest week in Celtic's season for a long, long time.
We can all look forward to Saturday and I hope it's a game befitting of the occasion."
